Familiar
by Liria Nai
Summary: Harry is tired of being who everyone wants him to be, he leaves the Dursley’s and comes into his power. With the help of his true familiar he becomes the person he always wanted to be. Slash, HD and others. Creature fic. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Familiar**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything though I wish I did. The plot is mine but the characters and the places you recognise belong to J. K. Rowling.

Hi this is my first ever fan fiction, so reviews are definitely appreciated. Let me know if I should continue it or not. I don't have a beta, but I have checked it over so if there are any mistakes let me know and I will change them. If anyone is interested in being my beta then please let me know.

**Summary**

Harry is tired of being who everyone wants him to be, he leaves the Dursley's and comes into his power. With the help of his true familiar he becomes the person he always wanted to be. Slash eventually, H/D and others.

**Prologue**

Harry Potter yawned and stretched, for the first night in a very long time he had slept well. He opened the curtains around his four poster and grinned when he spotted the owl asleep on her perch. When he'd left Privet Drive the night before last Hedwig hadn't been there, she'd been delivering a letter to Remus to explain his disappearance from the Dursleys and that he would keep in touch. That thought made him smile again, no longer would he be forced to take his Uncle's verbal abuse or his cousin's fists, he'd never have to cook or clean for them again, he could be his own person for once in his life. Moving out was the first thing he had done for himself, he'd told Remus but no one else, not Dumbledore, not Ron and not Hermione. He'd tell Ron and Hermione of course, once he got settled but he wasn't gong to tell Dumbledore anything. When he returned to school for his final year, Dumbledore would try to control his life again, but until then he would keep Dumbledore out of his life. If it was up to Dumbledore he would forever be the innocent little hero, a pet that Dumbledore could order around and a pin up for the Wizarding world to adore. He didn't want to be that person. And he wouldn't be.

That was why he had stayed at the Leaky Cauldron last night and Dumbledore was the reason he was leaving as soon as Gringotts and the shops opened. So he'd better get dressed and be on his way. He jumped out of bed and spent a few minutes trying to decide which of the new muggle outfits he should wear, Hedwig woke up and flew to the dresser, she watched him rummage through his trunk but didn't offer an opinion on the outfit he should wear. Being unable to go to Hogsmeade last year because of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, he had decided to have his galleons changed into muggle money, so that he could get a few things for his new home, he'd had a long time to plan what he would do when he was of age and at midnight tonight he would be seventeen. Not an age for anyone to be living on their own, but it was better than his other options. Today on the eve of his birthday he would go to Gringotts and as long as the Potter Family vault recognized him as heir he could get his true inheritance.

Finally he decided on a pair of dark grey weathered jeans and a tight black t-shirt that showed off his physique quite nicely, he closed and shrunk his trunk and Hedwig's cage. After a moments glance at Hedwig and after waiting for her nod of approval he placed the glamour of a Barn Owl on her and to finish off _his_ 'look' he reapplied the glamour he had worn last night. Harry Potter was now a dirty blonde with blue eyes and he had no scar on his perfect forehead. And it felt wonderful, it made him feel free.

He smiled thinking of the loop hole he'd found. The Minister of Magic and the Headmaster may be able to sense his use of magic, they'd know what spell he had used but they wouldn't know what he looked like, so as long as he didn't do any other magic afterwards they wouldn't find him. He re-arranged his blonde locks slightly, traced the unblemished skin that hid his lightning bolt shaped scar and checked none of his other distinguishing features were visible. After a quick glance over his outfit and a few whispered words of instructions to Hedwig he put his trunk and Hedwig's cage in his jacket pocket, tucked his wand in the other and walked out of his room with Hedwig on his shoulder, ready to be the person he had always wanted to be.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything though I wish I did. The plot is mine but the characters and the places you recognise belong to J. K. Rowling.

Just as an added note this story is set in Harry's seventh year but HBP did not happen. So sorry, Sirius is dead but Dumbledore isn't. Snape is still potions master and Draco isn't a death eater, yet.

**Chapter One: Diagon Alley**

After tapping the brick that concealed the entrance, Harry stepped in to Diagon Alley. As soon as he did Hedwig left his shoulder and flew to the Daily Prophet building where she perched on the sign. He knew that she would keep her eyes open for him and that every time he moved on so would she.

He entered Gringotts not bothering to read the warning on the door; he had read it many times over the years. He looked around, noticing Griphook he went over to the little goblin and in a hushed tone asked to be taken to the Potter Vault. After an exhilarating cart ride that Harry was sure Hagrid would have thrown up on if he had been there, they came to the Potter Vault. The Vault was exactly the same as it had always been, but hopefully today he would be allowed in to another part, a part that he had never visited before, the true vault.

This time after unlocking the door Griphook pressed a hidden latch and a small rectangular hole just large enough for Harry's finger, appeared above the key hole. After a slight hesitation he placed his index finger in the hole and felt the sharp needle inside prick his finger and suck up his blood. Not a happy feeling, that's for sure. With a click the door opened and instead of stepping into a small room with a pile of golden galleons, silver sickles and bronze knuts, he stepped in to a large, cavernous room with roughly hewn stone walls and a hundred shelves and boxes. And everything was absolutely covered in dust. He just hoped everything had a strong preservation charm on it. He rolled up his sleeves and prepared to delve in.

After rooting through quite a few boxes he finally found what he was looking for, the deeds to the family properties. Remus had told him about them once and he already knew which one he was looking for. The Manor house in the country, it was perfect, secluded, in a hard to find location, it was very heavily warded and it was quite a large property, which meant if anyone did get passed the wards it would be harder to find him than in one of the cottages or town houses. And he was curious.

After finding the document he quickly read it over, he needed to sign in blood and the house was his. He borrowed a quill from Griphook, jabbed his finger and signed his name. As soon as he did the parchment glowed and the location popped into his head. The house would recognize him now. He smiled and replaced the parchment, no one would dispute his claim to the house and when he had his own heir they would need to sign it to be recognized. He cast a cleansing charm to remove the dust and grime and a healing charm on his finger. Silently thanking someone that it was safe to do magic down here. Griphook had told him the last time he visited that the vaults were warded, which meant that magic could be done inside the vault but could not pass through the wards (meaning no apparating in or out) and since they were underground; his magic could not be sensed. So with that in mind he cast a cleansing charm on the room, mentally kicking himself because he hadn't thought about it earlier.

He just had two more items to find, things Remus had told him about, things he would need later. The Lords ring that had belonged to his father, for though there were no longer Lords and Ladies their descendents still wore their rings as a mark of pride. The family ring had been returned to the Vaults after his Fathers death but now that he was the recognized heir he could wear it. It was a simple gold band with the Potter crest on it, a snake-like Dragon and a Gryphon around a capital 'P'. The other thing was the ceremonial sword, according to Remus it was a strong blade and the wielder could imbue it with magic. That was why he wanted the sword, Remus was going to teach him to use it and with a few select spells it would help him against Voldemort. He found the sword on one of the shelves, commissioned when the Potter family was formed. The blade itself was gleaming silver, with a burnished gold pommel and silver gilt, an emerald and a ruby were inset on both sides, there was also a matching dagger. The sword with all its ornamentation should look tawdry but it wasn't it was sleek, deadly and powerful. Hopefully Voldemort wouldn't be expecting a physical weapon, even one that was spelled. He hoped Voldemort was overconfident and hadn't even considered that a muggle weapon could hurt him and because of that wouldn't use a shield designed to repel both magical and physical attacks.

He opened his trunk and placed them inside; he wore the Lords ring but hid it with a pair of gloves he had bought yesterday in muggle London. As he straightened up, glinting metal caught his eye. There was an open box on one of the shelves. Inside it was a rather long necklace ending in a point at both the front and back. On closer inspection it was two smaller necklaces that appeared to be joined together. When he picked them up they remained solid and rigid, so that they would not lie against a person's neck. There was a note in the box that had been hidden,

'_Lurian and Dana Potter. Betrothal Necklaces. To remain here until another generation of Potter is worthy of wearing them…' _

They were beautiful necklaces, the links were like flattened ropes, one side was silver and the other gold, one was gold on the left and silver on the right and the other was silver on the left and gold on the right. On the gold side was an emerald and on the silver side was a ruby and when you turned them over, written on the back were words.

Two words, _'Mine'_ and_ 'Yours'_

Again the words were on opposite sides, the meaning was clear, they both belonged to the wearer of the other.

He placed them back on the shelf, put his trunk back in his pocket and collected some gold, before locking the vault and joining Griphook in the cart to head back up to the surface.

He headed straight to Flourish and Blotts, he would have to come back later in the summer if he had to get some new school books but since he wasn't starting any new subjects he doubted he'd need any. Once inside the book shop, he went straight to the Defence against the Dark Arts section and picked up several advanced texts as well as a book called _Everything you need to know to pass your Auror exam. _He then went to the Healing section, where he picked up two rather large books on Magical First Aid, an _In the Field Handbook for Aspiring Aurors _and a book entitled _Spells and Potions for all your Health Problems. _The last one was rather advanced but he had noticed on the back several potions listed for restoring eyesight. Hopefully he'd be able to muddle through it.

For fun he browsed the Magical fiction books, he needed something to do when he wasn't training. He then went to the Wizarding History Section and by then he was glad he'd picked up a never filling basket when he entered the store. He picked up _Magical wars of the Past _and _Battle Techniques,_ as well as_ The Duelist's Guide To Technique volumes 1 and 2 _as well as_ 1000 spells to disable, disarm and to harm: For Aurors and Professional Duelists. _He was heading to the tills to pay when a sign above a display caught his eye.

**ABOUT TO TURN SEVENTEEN**

**WANT TO KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT?**

**Then Pick up one of theses…**

Curious he took a look.

The first book on the display was _Coming of Age, A Young Witch and Wizards Guide to the Trials of Adulthood. _The second was _Maturity: A Guide to Power Levels, Inheritance and New Body Parts. _At first glance he thought they were like the Muggle self help books but something made him read the back of _Maturity: A Guide to Power Levels, Inheritance and New Body Parts. _

_About to come of age?_

_Worried about coming into your true power?_

_Worried about those little genetic quirks that may just appear?_

_Prepare for the worst, with twenty different numbing potions and healings spells._

_Learn to spot the signs of impending maturity and avoid blood loss._

'_A thoughtful book that guides a young witch or wizard through an emotional and difficult time.'_

He added both books to his basket without further thought; they might have some interesting information. While he was waiting in line he pondered the books, was there something in there about blood magic, namely the reason why it could only protect him until he was seventeen or was there something else to it. He'd have to wait and see but if there was something strange that could happen to witches and wizards when they were seventeen why hadn't anyone mentioned it to him before? When he got to the till he gladly paid for a magically shrinking (as well as weightless) bag, he kept the two _maturity _books out and went to a café for lunch.

After eating lunch he got out _Spells and Potions for all your Health Problems _and wrote down the ingredients for the eyesight restorative that dealt with his particular condition on a napkin with the quill he borrowed from the waitress. He then skimmed through the _maturity _books, the basics were that at the age of seventeen a witch/wizard came into their full power and that there was a slight degree of pain involved, the more powerful a person was, the less they would feel because their magic shielded them from it. The most powerful witches and wizards had so much magic that it drove them to share it between other bodies, this usually meant bonding with a familiar (Dumbledore and Fawkes and Voldemort and Nagini). Extraordinarily powerful witches and wizards (who were rare) could even bond with a muggle and share their magic. It also wasn't unheard of for them to bond with another witch or wizard, but this was a volatile bond and could go either way. Meaning the bond could lead the two individuals to be sworn enemies where there magic's soul purpose was to destroy the other. Or the other extreme, to join them together body, mind, soul and to combine their magic to an unhealthy level, but with that power the most extraordinary things could be done. To defeat a dark wizard for instance but that was extremely unlikely. If he was honest with himself he expected to share his magic with a familiar but if neither Voldemort nor Dumbledore had the bond then what chance did he have. He'd have to stick with his plan of hoping Voldemort wasn't shielded against a physical attack.

He went to the Apothecary and stocked up on his potion ingredients as well as buying the ones for the restorative. He then called into the magical menagerie, to stock up on owl treats, Hedwig definitely deserved them for having to stay with the Dursleys. There were a lot of new animals in the menagerie, owls, cats, a fox cub, rats and snakes galore but he didn't think having a conversation with them would be the best of ideas so he left. He didn't know why he had lingered to look at the animals, well he did if he was honest, he rather liked the idea of a familiar, a friend he could talk to that he knew could never betray him or use him, they could manipulate but only for the good of the Wizard not others. He bought some new quills and ink bottles and headed to Ollivianders'. The wand maker took one look at him furrowed his brow for a moment in thought and then said… 'Hello Mr Potter, what can I do for you?'

'Well I can see that my glamour hasn't fooled you, sir.' He smiled 'I was going to ask you if you would be able to teach me to hide my wand signature?'

The man thought for a moment before answering.

'I trust you Mr Potter, so I will gladly block your wand signature from others. But I must still be able to sense it. To be able to monitor spell use, you see the ministry often ask me to identify magic traces at crime scenes, to identify both victim and murderer.' Olliviander looked at him very strangely and for a moment Harry thought he knew about the prophecy. 'So I will still have to be able to sense your signature. But I will block it from everyone else.' He then took Harry's wand and after saying a few words and casting a few spells he pronounced it blocked. 'I suggest Mr Potter, that you cast a small spell in the street. If no one appears looking for you, you can consider your wand safely blocked.'

Harry did as he was told and waited fifteen minutes or so, no one appeared. He knew that both Dumbledore and the Ministry would be looking for him by now and if they could have sensed that little bit of magic they would have been there within moments.

He had nothing else to do, he thought he might pop in to see Fred and George and would have done so if he hadn't seen Mrs Weasley heading in their direction with a furious look on her face. He may have been curious, but he also had a strong sense of self preservation, he knew she couldn't recognise him but he still didn't want to risk it, so he took an about turn and ducked into the nearest alleyway.

It was a few moments before he realised where he was, he was in Knockturn Alley.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything though I wish I did. The plot is mine but the characters and the places you recognise belong to J. K. Rowling.

A/N. Just wanted to say thank you to Copper Vixen for being my first and so far only reviewer. If you read this story please review, even constructive criticism will be appreciated though I'd definitely prefer good comments.

Let me know if I should continue with this story.

**Chapter Two: Knockturn Alley**

_It was a few moments before he realised where he was, he was in Knockturn Alley._

His first thought was… _Oh shit. _His second thought was, _bloody fantastic. _

Ever since his little trip at the age of twelve he'd wanted to go back. Preferably as he was now. Under glamour, with nobody hexing him because he was the boy who lived. He set off, keeping his eyes peeled, never turning his head and gawking; acting like a tourist was the fastest way to get noticed. And he was determined to walk out the way he came in, in one piece.

Everything was dark, dingy and gothic. The buildings were all old, built before the turn of the century, or in the early years of it. They leaned in, over the pathways, oppressive and darkening the street so much that it no longer appeared to be mid afternoon. Birds called, but that was the only sound to be heard. The presence of the place was cold and it appealed to the dark part of his soul. Part of him felt like it had come home. He supposed the part that had come from Voldemort should feel at home here. The entire motif was snakish, he couldn't help wondering what would happen if he went up to one of the hundreds of snakes dotted around the place and spoke a little parseltongue. Would a secret entrance open up and take him to another one of Slytherin's chambers. Or maybe to Voldemorts secret lair, were hundreds of death eaters watching him right now. Suddenly looking around the alley didn't seem as good an idea as it had earlier.

For once he wanted to meet Voldemort on _his _terms and he wasn't fully prepared yet.

Glancing in the shop windows as he passed, he noticed Borgin and Burkes, the shop he had gone crashing into in second year was closed. _Strange, _he thought. He'd expected a shop like that to be selling out its stock daily with the dark lord up and about. He shrugged it off, maybe they'd been investigated by the Ministry.

The street was quite empty, compared with the last time he'd been there. The only other person he could see was a hunched figure sat on a wrought iron bench, even the batty woman with the tray of fingernails was missing. He hoped this was what it was always like on a Tuesday, if not, then he'd better start worrying. He turned around to leave, a little bit unsettled, put his foot on a loose flagstone which tilted up and smacked into his ankle with a crack.

'Son of a bitch!' he swore.

'What the fuck?' He turned around and found the last person, well, not the last person he expected to see here but anyway, Draco Malfoy was the figure sat on the bench. Malfoy suddenly huffed.

'Huh, thought you were someone else.'

'Who?' Harry asked his heart beating wildly, if that prick knew, he could probably have Voldemorts entire inner circle here in less than a minute.

'Nobody.' Malfoy answered, looking at his feet.

Against his better judgement Harry couldn't help being curious and a little concerned, admittedly not much it was after all Malfoy.

'What's wrong?'

'None of your business!' snapped the blond.

With a sigh, Harry strode forward. He didn't know why he was doing this or what was making him, probably the curiosity. So not the time to be thinking about the saying, "_Curiosity killed the Cat!"_

'Do you need any help?'

The look Malfoy gave him could have shattered glass.

'And what makes you think you could help me?'

'Huh, maybe I'm an idiot, who thinks someone who looks as shit as you do, wouldn't refuse help. But I guess your brains are as addled as your face.' He felt a moments satisfaction at the look on Malfoys face before his better side won over.

'Sorry, that was uncalled for.' Privately he thought Malfoy had deserved everything he said.

It was a moment before he realised that Malfoy was looking up at him with the most open expression he had ever seen on the other boys face. And boy was definitely the word that suited Draco at the moment, gone was the haughty expression, the snide smirk, the cold eyes and the cutting remarks. Instead his face was open, the mask completely gone and what was beneath it was equally as surprising as the fact that he was seeing it. Draco's expression was the most insecure he had ever seen.

'Do I really look that bad?' he asked, his words barely a whisper on the wind. He had always known Malfoy was vain but that really took the biscuit, hell it took the tin. Holding back his grin, he told him no, he didn't look that bad. Draco had smiled at him then, he'd nearly died of shock. Draco Malfoy smiling, god, if he told Ron, Ron would die of shock.

'Whats your name?' the question killed his amusement.

'Aidan.' He said, holding out his hand, he had no idea where the name had come from. It had flowed off his tongue so easily, he hadn't hesitated at all and why was that, hell he didn't care. He looked back at Draco who was still holding his hand, as soon as their eyes met Draco held his hand more firmly and shook it.

'Draco, pleased to meet you.' He noticed Draco seemed happier about something, he couldn't think what.

'What you here for?' Draco asked.

'Huh?'

'Well you don't seem to have been here before.'

'You saying I look like a tourist?' he smirked. Draco smirked at him.

'No I'm saying you look like a country bumpkin who's never seen a few dark arts shops before.'

'And if I haven't?' Draco just smiled.

'I'd offer to show you round but I don't want to be here any more than you do.'

'Is it that obvious?'

'Yeh, you looked like you were about to have a panic attack then you got a light tap on your ankle and swore so loud you startled the ravens.'

'Ravens?' Draco just pointed. About twelve ravens were perched on the roof of the shop opposite them. Draco actually chuckled at his expression, it was such an odd sound to here from a Malfoy, so much so he had to join in. He felt a bit strange laughing with Malfoy.

It was strange it was so easy to talk to this Draco. Had he changed or was he just seeing a side of Draco that no one else had. But why was Draco allowing him to see it, had he said something, done something. It was a strange thought that came to him then, maybe Draco was as trapped in his life as Harry was. But at least he _knew_ that he belonged on the side of light, maybe Draco didn't have that to reassure him.

The possibility of him having something in common with Malfoy was shocking, it just went to show, maybe he was as prejudiced as Draco had been. But the difference between them was that Malfoy would never realise it nor would he do anything about it. At that moment the shop door opened behind them, Draco immediately stiffened and his mask fell into place.

'Please, do call again Mr Malfoy.' Draco winced, actually winced and then he looked at him for a moment, his face completely open, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't Draco gave him a half smile before his mask fell back into place.

And then the cold drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy reached his ears and for a moment the memories threatened him.

'I will definitely remember you in the future, Mr Donnal. Come Draco.' He said nothing else to his son, just expected him to follow. He forgot about the memories, as anger welled up. At Lucius and at Draco, as Draco just turned around and followed his father, but after a moment he turned back to face Harry and mouthed the words 'write to me'.

Harry just nodded. And that was that.

It was only after Malfoy left that he realised not once had he mentioned what house he was in, asked Harry well Aidan what house he was in or mentioned the purity of his blood.

_Huh, will wonders never cease_ he thought.

The uneasiness he had felt earlier was gone, but he still thought he should leave. On his way back to Diagon Alley he spotted another menagerie, it looked dark and depressing but he thought he may as well look. The menagerie was next to an Apothecary, outside were several barrels of the cheaper things, like beetle eyes, bundles of feathers and fangs, from nothing rare of course, that stuff was all inside. Several tanks were stacked up near the door. As he was passing the shop a low voice said…

'**_Why isss Harrry sss Potterrrs, wearing a glamourrr?'_**

For a moment he almost had a heart attack, thinking Voldemort had found him. But it wasn't Voldemort, it was a snake, a snake sitting in the topmost tank, which was almost at his eye level. The snake was looking at him curiously, of course that was if a snake could actually look curious, but that's what he thought it looked like anyway. It was a black snake, extremely fine and sleek, the scales reflected the light whenever its coils rippled and glowed different colours like the sheen of petrol on water. He was a beautiful snake, his tongue darted out, tasting the air.

'**_How sss do yousss know me?' _**Harry asked.

'_**I sssseee you.'**_

'_**How?'**_

'**_Don't sssknow. Jussst do.'_** Harry thought for a moment.

'**_Why are you here?'_**

'_**To be ssssold forr dark magic.'**_

'_**Why?'**_

'**_Sssskin.'_** He answered simply.

'_**Ah, you musssst be rare.'**_

'_**I have rarrre bloodssss.'**_

'**_Why isss almosssst everything in the wizarrrding world about bloodsss?'_**

'_**Do not know, Massssterr.'**_

'_**I have passssed many ssssnakess today and not one hassss sssspoken to me. Why did you?'**_

'_**Do not know, Massssterr, feeling, inssstinct almossst sssame asss desssire to ssstrike prey.'**_

A feeling, an instinct that was almost as primal as the need to hunt prey. Could it be that this snake was meant for him. He took another look at the snake it was almost as though the light that glittered on the snake made the shape of a lightning bolt flashing when he moved. He had to ask.

'_**Do you know me?'**_

'_**I feel like I knowsss you but I do not knowsss how.'**_

'**_Do you know the word Familiarrr?'_**

If it were possible the snakes eyes widened, he nodded.

'_**I do know young Masssster, if you touch me we may bond, I will sssshare a little of your magic and in return guide you throughout lifffe.'**_

'_**If you are willing, I will assk the ssshop owner if I may hold you?'**_

'_**I am young Massster.'**_

After a few minutes of arguing he was allowed to hold the snake, who he was told had both the blood of an adder and an obscure sea snake. He had to give the man ten galleons, just to hold him. Apparently he would get it back if he returned the snake, he didn't think he would. But it didn't matter, even if the snake wasn't his familiar he was going to buy him and he would make sure that the ten galleons he had already given the man were knocked off the price. As soon as his hands touched the smooth underbelly of the snake and the snake wrapped himself around his arm, he knew that this snake was indeed his familiar, an icy fire spread through his limbs making him shudder and the snake hiss. For a moment he couldn't help wondering why he had found his familiar now, before his birthday. According to the books the familiar could be found any day between the seventeenth and eighteenth birthday, why had he found his early. It was only a day but again was there another reason for all of this.

**_Massster? _**he heard the snakes voice in his head.

_**Yesss?**_

_**I think the man isss getting a little impatient sss**_

Harry laughed to himself the man was indeed impatient, he was tapping his foot, had his arms crossed and his wand out. The snake slithered up his arm and wrapped itself loosely around his neck.

'How much?' he asked aloud.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and if you read this chapter please review again. The more people who review the faster I update.

A/N… In this chapter I will be referring to Remus as Harry's godfather, so let's just pretend that Lily and James didn't know anyone else that they considered as trust worthy as both Remus and Sirius so they decided Harry should have two Godfathers.

**At the moment I am continuing this story, but I need more reviews or I will remove it…**

**Chapter 3: Familiar**

The owner of the store had lied to him. The snake was not rare. He did have dual bloodlines but both of them were quite common. His snake who had chosen the name Krai was a cross between a sea krait and a sunbeam snake. He was fine and sleek, but on closer inspection was not pure black but dark grey, his underside though was bluish grey striped with black and his tail was flattened and paddle shaped. But his entire body _did_ glow a multitude of colours as if he had been dipped in petrol. He was nearly two meters in length, he had the wedged shaped head of the sunbeam instead of the small rounded head of the krait. He was very striking. And quite talkative.

After _his _snake had flashed his fangs at the owner a few times and after a threat or two from 'Aidan' the owner had reduced the price by quite a bit, in the end it had been a very reasonable price for a familiar. He had also told Harry what his snake really was, hoping to retain any future business with an apparently rich and dark young man. He had told him that though the snake was not rare, he was still very sought after, the skin of the sunbeam, which seemed to be his most prominent bloodline was quite useful in potions. The skin had similar properties to that of a boomslang, though it could not be used in the polyjuice potion. The other half, the sea krait is an extremely venomous snake and its venom had many uses in potions, mainly protection potions. He knew that both aspects would be useful to him and he told the proprietor so, as it wouldn't do for him to wonder.

After paying, Krai had wound himself around Harry and they had headed back to Diagon Alley where he had signalled Hedwig to come down and meet Krai. After a few moments of posing and Krai's promise not to eat Hedwig, things had settled down and Hedwig had forgiven him for getting a familiar without consulting her, enough to sit on his shoulder. Since talking to snakes in the middle of Diagon Alley would cause a few problems, he retreated to the Leaky Cauldron, where he read some more on what to expect tonight. Who knew turning seventeen could be such a trial. His familiar curled himself into a tight coil on the table top and fell asleep; Hedwig went to sleep as well but perched on the back of a chair.

He picked up _Maturity _and began to read, starting with the chapter on familiars.

'_The familiar is one of the most respected and well known ideals in the magical world, children wish for a familiar when they turn seventeen and when they become adults they still want one even though they know they won't get one. A familiar is a guiding friend, who guides the soul he/she looks to, by using the others magic. As only powerful witches and wizards are able to bond with a familiar, the magic the familiar uses is hardly missed. Familiars depending on the person they are attached to, can be either light or dark, familiars are very rarely entirely good or evil. Through the bond, a familiar takes the magic of their witch/wizard and uses it entirely for the benefit of that person. This may be simply advising them, even manipulating them into something that they otherwise would not do. A familiar cannot harm their person. There is usually a mind link between the two, which allows the familiar to manipulate the other more easily. Through the mind link both can speak mind to mind.'_

Huh, he would have to watch the thoughts in his head, he loved the idea of having a familiar, someone to advise him with no ulterior motives, but he did not need someone else to manipulate him, whether in his mind or in real life. He had enough of that as it was, what with Dumbledore and Voldemort who still sent him visions, mainly of the people he killed, hoping to drive him to distraction and make him do something stupid. He shot a glance at Krai; he was still asleep, for now he didn't have to worry about anything. Getting back to his book, he turned to one of the earlier chapters and began to read…

'_The year between the seventeenth and eighteenth birthday is an important time in a young witch/wizards life. In the wizarding world this is believed to be the year where a person becomes the adult they will be for the rest of their lives. That is why this year is known as the transition period between youth and adulthood. When a person reaches seventeen, in most cases their body has by then stopped changing and it is then the turn of the mind, the mind is believed to be where magic is housed, where the talent and the knowledge is. The powers develop to their fullest gradually over the year. Really powerful people may have a small surge of power at the beginning and a gradual progression for the rest of the year. The power level afforded to a person at the end of the year is usually a combination of the power levels of both parents but some individuals, several from ancient times and two in recent years have been afforded a higher level. Power levels are recorded by the ministry on the day after the eighteenth birthday, by writing to the magic registry office, a young witch or wizard is able to find out the power levels of their parents and estimate their own potential power level.'_

Well if he'd have known that he'd have written to the Ministry, but he wasn't doing it now, maybe he'd write to them when he got back to Hogwarts.

'_The year between the seventeenth and eighteenth birthday is also known as the transformation year. This is because the change in power levels can overwhelm the cells in the body and change the body in to something else. This can be something as simple as lengthening the hair, changing the colours of the hair and eyes. Sometimes the power within a person can change them into what they would have been if the circumstances of their lives hadn't changed them. It is also possible for a person to develop hidden traits and skills that were unknown before. Some people for example develop the ability to mind read, to create vivid illusions and project them without the use of a wand. Usually though it is something like developing the ability to talk to an animal whether muggle or magical.'_

That didn't sound too bad.

'_Of course when these changes take place there is a certain amount of pain, e.g. the changes in height and build. This is because of the stretching of bones, muscles and organs. This is where the potions discussed later in this book come in handy. This is also the best time to brew a blood replenishing potion, as a lot of blood is used to regenerate cells and create new 'additions' to the body.'_

Ok that sounded a little bit worrying, not that he was too worried. He had experienced a little bit of pain over the years, like when his arm had been pierced by a basilisk's fang. It was strange though, the magic of a person prevented them from feeling the pain from the power increase but it didn't protect them from the physical pain of transformation that was directly caused by the magic increase. He didn't really understand that.

'_Further it is possible for even greater changes to occur, especially amongst pure blood families. Very rarely is the 'pure blood' bloodline actually pure, it is a matter of opinion whether or not this is so. Pure blood families have often interbred to keep their wizarding blood pure but every few generations a pure blood witch or wizard would either breed or take as their partner a magical creature of the humanoid variety. Such as a Demon, Elf, Vampire or Veela. This boosts their flagging magical powers and is the reason why pure bloods are still able to hold a wand the right way up.' _

He laughed at this.

'_Because of this certain traits that belong to those bloodlines may appear, such as the development of pointed ears (elves), the changing of hair colour to an extremely light blond (Veela) and the development of blood lust (Vampires and Demons, in two very different ways). It is possible that very unsavoury traits may appear, depending on the strength of the blood. In this instance the blood flow stopping potion would be extremely useful, growing new appendages like teeth and wings will result in blood loss. It is very likely that most if not all purebloods will have some sort of development. This change could be so subtle it is barely noticeable or so obvious that a person is forced to change their lives accordingly. In this book are several chapters, one on each species that could have birthed or sired a child with a witch or wizard. It may be of interest to point out that these traits can also appear in half blood children, as long as the blood is present in the line. The blood could have been dormant for centuries and becomes dominant when combined with another blood. So if any changes appear it is a wise course of action to check your symptoms against the ones listed for each species.'_

Now that was a bit more worrying, Remus had once told him that his father was a pureblood. He hadn't been entirely sure whether Lily was a half blood herself or entirely muggleborn, she had always professed to being a muggle born but Remus wasn't entirely sure, there had been several instances over their years at school which had made the werewolf suspicious. And Harry knew his godfather well enough to know that you always paid attention to his instincts. It was possible that his fathers line carried a magical creatures blood and if Lily was a half blood as Remus suspected, her blood may have carried a complimentary gene that would manifest in him during the next year. Hhmm, maybe he should have another word with Remus. But that could wait until he went back to Hogwarts as well; it was obvious that the changes if and when they appeared would be gradual, so he had time. He could talk to Remus at Hogwarts; he couldn't wait to get back in to Defence against the Dark Arts, with Remus teaching again he would actually learn something. Their last two teachers had been nothing short of useless, Umbridge like most of their defence teachers had tried to kill him and Slughorn like the others was completely useless, he seemed to have no interest in defence, it was almost like it wasn't even his subject. No he couldn't wait to have Remus back; his godfather had told him that he had a few new useful spells and charms to teach him. And if the patronus charm was any indication of what Remus could teach him, he couldn't wait to find out what else he knew.

He yawned and stretched a little bit, accidentally pushing back his chair causing both Hedwig and Krai to wake with a start. Hedwig gave him a reproachful hoot before settling back down to sleep. Krai on the other hand slid over to him, up his arm and around his neck.

_**Sssomething is wrong masssster**_

**_No I wasss just thinking _**The snake almost laughed.

_**About your coming transssition, yesss**_

_**Yesss, hows do you know about that**_

**_I knowsss many thingsss, massster_**

**_It'sss ssstrange how you ssseem to know more than I do. Why didn't they tell me_**

_**That I do not know massster, it isss not good to keep sssomeone in the dark**_

_**I don't know what it isss, everyone wantsss me to be the Sssaviour, but they don't help me to become the sssaviour. Does that sssound pompousss**_

_**Yesss**_

_**What I mean isss, they, urgh, they expect me to just go in and sssurvive. They think that becaussse I am dessstined to be the Sssaviour I could be jussst asss easssily the next dark lord. They fear me. They think that I could be like Voldemort and I am like him, even he ssaw it, both orphansss (though in my case that was his fault), both half bloodsss and both parssselmouthsss. Maybe itss not that difficult for them to sssee him in me**_

**_Massster I do not know you very well yet but I can sssee that you are a good sssoul and I have heard of thisss Voldemort or you know who, and he iss not you. The sssimilaritess between two people are not what makesss them the sssame, thossse things jussst sshape who you are and will be. Jussst because you cans sspeak to me, like he doess, doess not mean that you are a killer_**

_**But I will be, or could be, I may ssstill die myssself**_

**_You may die massster, but you will die asss yourself not asss him. You have choosssen your own life, he chosssse hissss_**

_**Can I be a killer, wont that make me like him**_

_**Massster, why will you kill him**_

_**What**_

_**What reassson will you kill him for, becaussse people want you to…**_

_**No, he killed my parentsss**_

_**Isss that the only reassson**_

**_No, he killed Sssusssan Bone'sss family, his followersss ruined Neville'sss life. They hurt people, all of them. Voldemort more ssso than any of them and they don't care what they do. I am not going to try to kill him because of my parentsss or Sssiriusss, though they are part of the reason. I am going to kill him becaussse if I don't no one can and he'll continue breaking familiesss apart_**

_**Exactly and why doesss he kill**_

**_Hatred, power, insanity and he enjoysss it_**

_**That isss the real difference between you massster, would you kill him if there wass anyother way**_

_**No**_

_**But he would**_

That actually made him think, he was similar to Voldemort but there were many others who were similar as well. Susan was an orphan even though she still had her Auntie Amelia, Seamus was a half blood but only Voldemort was a parselmouth. But _he _had never told a basilisk to kill students or forced part of his soul into his familiar's body and he wouldn't do even if it was the only way to survive. A weight seemed to lift from his shoulders, an invisible worry that he had carried since second year, something Dumbledore hadn't been able to fully remove. If this was the kind of help a familiar could give, then he could stand a little bit of manipulation and maybe this time someone would tell him why they were doing it.

He took a quick look at his watch and found that it was quite late, several people were talking intently with Tom at the bar but they were far enough away from the fireplace to not cause problems. He woke up Hedwig with a gently poke and told her it was time to go. With a surprisingly chipper hoot she settled on his shoulder. Krai wound himself more firmly around his arm and neck. He placed his wand in his jeans pocket, he really shouldn't be doing that but there was no Moody here to tell him off. He had stood up ready to go when a little of the conversation at the bar reached him.

'…Potter… yes, we're looking for him...'

'Dumbledore's orders you know… left home…'

'Missing for… have you seen…'

'No sorry, hasn't been… Did you ask…?'

'…even asked at Gringotts, no ones seen him…'

'…if they are not telling…'

Deciding that it might be prudent to leave he picked up the bag of snake stuff he had bought in the magical menagerie and hadn't bothered to shrink. He couldn't fit anymore in his pockets anyway and turned to leave. He stepped up to the fireplace and took a pinch of floo powder from the supply he had bought earlier, placed the container back in with the snake stuff, threw the powder into the fire and said quite clearly, but not too loudly…

'Potter Manor.'

And with that he was off in a swirl of fireplaces to his family's ancestral home.

A/N Hey guys just a little thing, I know where I want to go with Harry's transition but where do you want it to go. If you have any ideas let me know. I may change my mind and use my favourite one, especially if I get a few people against my original idea.

I live to please, so let me please and tell me when you review.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Intermission

He curled up tighter, listening to his human uumm and aaahhh as he read the thin book with the bright blue cover. His human or Harry as he was known to the other humans was quite intelligent for a walker. But he seemed to have a low level of self-esteem, it was obvious that Harry was very insecure. He would have to have a good long talk with his human and find out why. It appeared to him that the insecurities came from his home life. Why else would his human leave his burrow early, human young stayed for many years with their life givers. Snake young do not, so for this young human to have left early there had to be a serious reason. As he had not grown up with his life givers he did not fully understand what young gained from remaining with them. But he had heard enough over his years of life to have a general idea of what a human's early life should be like.

Human young were born live from the life givers they were not born in the egg like the snakes and were then looked after by the life giver. The life giver would bathe their young and provide food and skin for them. This was something the snakes did not fully understand about the humans, a snake would shed unwanted and old skin to make room for new, the humans gathered different skins of varying colours and shapes and piled them on, after wearing them for a while they would then remove them and put on some other skin. Many humans wore the same skins again and again after washing. This did not make sense to Krai. Or any other snake he had met.

His human had his feet up on another chair, he had a bit of a frown on his face. Knowing that he could do so, he slipped into his humans mind and read the thoughts there. He found most obviously the fear of manipulation and saw through his memories all of the times he had been used by enemies and even worse by friends and allies and never told why. Krai resisted the urge to taste the air with his tongue, he knew if he did he would scent Harry's fear in the air. He was a very insecure human and his first job as familiar should be to increase his confidence but to do that he had to find the root of the problem, which meant that he would have to get his human to open up to him.

There were of course some things that he could ask the white owl, Hedwig. Harry had been quite interested when he had said he could see through her glamour too. There were things he needed to know about his human before he could help him and she would know many of them. Knowing the answers to these questions would help him plan talks with Harry. He would be able to prepare things to say to Harry to remove the self-doubt his human carried. He needed to know who his human trusted and who his enemies were other than the other Snake Lord. His human needed to be made stronger to defeat the dark Snake Lord. If Harry became stronger all of the snakes would follow him. He was powerful enough to attract and hold their loyalty. And then there would be a new Lord of the Snakes, one the wizarding world would be proud to worship.

He slept, and was woken when Harry pushed back his chair. Noticing his mood he slid over and attempted to alleviate his humans fears. There was almost a feeling of worthlessness emanating from his human's mind and he was glad when his words lessened its impact, the burden had been lifted but it would resurface. But all he needed to do when it did would be to repeat what he had just said to him, his loyalty and the firmness of his answers would reassure Harry and his self confidence would grow.

A conversation by the bar drew his attention, Harry had not noticed them yet. They were lions, he could smell them. They were speaking of Harry, asking the bald human behind the bar if he had seen Harry. He did the snakes equivalent of a smile when the human told them he hadn't, when they pointed over here at Harry, who was still lost in his thoughts, the bald human shook his head. Krai gave a soft hissing laugh when the bald human told them that they had been staying at the Cauldron for a week and that the young mans name was Aidan not Harry and he quite obviously did not have a scar, "_After all everyone knows that curse scars can't be covered." _Yes that human was extremely smart, he laughed. When they had got back to the Cauldron he had told Harry to place a memory charm on the bald one. It had obviously gone quite perfectly, a further indication of the power Harry held. His young Snake Lord would need careful guiding, it would be so easy to slip too far down the wrong path. A Snake Lord needed an element of darkness to his soul and for Harry that would come when he killed Voldemort, but Harry was an overall good soul. He was just the ruler that the snakes needed to show the others that not all snakes were evil and only good for dark magic. His human was getting ready to move on now, after Harry had poked the white owl, he slid over and wound himself around Harry.

A moment later Harry heard the voices at the bar…

'…_Potter… yes, we're looking for him...'_

'_Dumbledore's orders you know… left home…'_

'_Missing for… have you seen…'_

'_No sorry, hasn't been… Did you ask…?'_

'…_even asked at Gringotts, no ones seen him…'_

'…_if they are not telling…'_

Harry then grabbed the other bags, checked he had everything and walked over to the fireplace, Krai turned his head to watch the three at the bar, they weren't even watching them. Harry's spell had been very successful and that had only been a simple spell, they would have to try one of the more advanced spells next. Harry took some of the funny powder he had bought and threw it into the fire, the flames turned green which Krai found very appropriate, Harry then stepped inside and said immediately

'Potter Manor!'

And then they were gone…

Hey to everyone who reads this, I am not gonna update on this site anymore. No ones reviewing and I like feedback so unless someone changes my mind, this wont be updated. But if anyones interested I also post on adult fan fiction. net and the fics upto chapter 13 on there. So bye.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey since I stopped posting here several people have mentioned an interest in me continuing so thanks to…

Sable2684

Daeleniel Shadowphyre

And most especially

BluDraconis

Who finally convinced me to do so.

So hope you enjoy.

Chapter 5: Potter Manor

Harry fought the urge to close his eyes as thousands of fireplaces streamed past him. It was probably like being on a muggle rollercoaster; he didn't know that for sure he'd never been on one. And that was probably the reason why he felt so sick and disorientated, his body, particularly his stomach and his head were complaining loudly. He couldn't help thinking that if he'd have been on a few rollercoaster's he wouldn't be having this bad a reaction to it. The next thing he knew, he was flying out of a fireplace and smacking face first with a resounding crack into a white marble floor.

Hedwig was hooting shrilly somewhere high above his head and something was struggling beneath him. Realising who was beneath him, he quickly rolled to the left and nearly had a heart attack when a little craggy face appeared above him. Once he got over the shock he realized that the little old house elf who had scared the life out of him was laughing and very loudly.

'I…is…sorry sir, When Manny…saw your face…'

He smiled at her and then remembering that he had actually landed on Krai got up to look for the poor familiar and hoped that Krai wouldn't strike at him. He didn't have any anti venom and hoped his familiar remembered that, needless to say his familiar will have just realized why floo powder was not his favourite way to travel.

When he found Krai he was wrapped around an ornately carved table leg, it had taken him awhile because the legs of the table were carved into two entwined snakes. He wouldn't have noticed Krai if it hadn't have been for his shimmering scales which glowed in the light of the freshly stoked fire. It appeared Manny had recovered enough from her laughing fit. After hissing a quick reassurance to Krai, he turned to the waiting house elf.

'I knew I would be seeing Master Harry soon. I have prepared your room. If you like we could take a quick tour of the main rooms now and then I can show you to your room. I can bring your dinner up to you and then you could have a nice long bath to relax yourself before your transition.' All of this was said a little bit fast and it took Harry a moment to realize that she wasn't actually offering a choice.

'Will Master be removing his glamour? Manny would like to see what master Harry looks like. Manny has heard he is so much like his father but has his mother's eyes. There are very strong wards round both the grounds and Manor so there is no need to worry about the Ministry sensing you.' Thinking that it would be better not to answer her, he just waved his wand and the glamour disappeared. She walked up to him, her eyes raking him and began to circle him like a shark.

'Definitely like Master James, but the eyes are definitely Mistress Lily's. Very thin though and Master James wasn't quite as short. But that should be fixed tonight. Hhmm if Master would follow me…'

'Ummm, my Owl…'

'She has already left to go hunting sir, I am sure you will see her later as her perch is in your room.' He took a quick look around the room he was in, as Manny seemed intent on rushing him off. He was in the entrance hall; an ornately carved black fireplace stood behind him, above it was an old fashioned woodcut of a forest filled with Unicorns and Gryphons. As with the portraits the figures moved, the trees rustled and the Unicorns poked their heads out from behind the trees. The carving was unending, being done by a master on a cherry red wood panel that stretched in a ribbon all around the large room. At the far end were two curving staircases made of the same cherry red wood as the panel, again ornately carved to resemble leafy tree branches. It was strange how natural it appeared, almost as though it had grew that way. Around the room were placed several straight backed chairs varnished almost black with white cushions, the tables were also darkly varnished, all of the legs were elaborately carved but the tabletops were as plain as the chairs. Maybe that was because the carved snakes on the table legs weren't in fact stationary, as he watched one or two slithered over the tabletop and curled around their mates on other legs. The floor as he had come to know personally was of white marble veined with black and a grey that was almost silver. The ceiling was high and curved and simple silver chandeliers hung like clouds with non drip floating candles that cast a mottled glow over the ceiling as if it were patterned instead of plain. The furniture and the cold black and white colours should have made the room uninviting but this was not the case. He didn't know whether it was the cherry wood of the woodcut and the banister that made it seem so warm or the figures themselves. He did know that if the room had been even slightly smaller it wouldn't have worked, it would have looked too cluttered and he knew that if the room had been any bigger it would have been cavernously empty, it was perfectly matched. He noted absently that a cherry read carpet that appeared to be as soft as velvet led up the stairs. He followed Manny through a cherry wood door with carved panels, he didn't really have time to notice what the carvings were, but he saw more snakes and something with wings maybe a Gryphon, which would make sense. They walked through into a beautiful light blue room with a hardwood floor, sanded so smooth that you couldn't see where one board ended and another began. The sofa's were those corner ones, they looked so comfy he was hoping Manny would let him just fall into one and sleep but he thought there was no chance of that happening before he had a bath. The sofas were white with cushions of light blue covered in soft white lace. The walls were white, but there were paintings of poppy meadows and blue bells in a wood, that were all blowing in a non-existent breeze, they made the room. The ceiling was curved again but had sharpened arches of mahogany wood closing a quarter of the way to the centre like teeth.

'This is the receiving room, for when you have visitors, they will be met in the entrance hall and brought in here. These two rooms were specifically designed to impress business clients and important people. The rest of the manor is less grand baring of course some of the suites for important guests.'

'Where's the kitchen?'

'You don't need to know that young Master. Now follow me…'

She led him back to the entrance hall.

'You will be able to explore the grounds another day when you have recovered from your transition.' She said pointing at a large double door he had somehow missed earlier, this time carved with vines. She led him up the stairs to step straight out on to an arching corridor. The cherry carpet carried on down the corridor, the walls were cream and the doors were golden brown, every so often was a fine latticed window that showed the night sky. He remembered the illusion windows in the Ministry and knew that these were the same, it must have been a powerful charm to create such an image, but then again it wasn't nearly as impressive as the ceiling at Hogwarts.

'As you seemed to be eyeing the couch downstairs I thought we had better skip the library, study, dining room, smoking room, Ladies solar (not that you will ever need to enter there, that's strictly for your wife and daughters), galleries, ballroom and conservatory. The magical rooms will have to wait also, you look about ready to drop, you should have come earlier I was expecting you at tea time; you only have an hour to bathe and eat before midnight. Your familiar really should have got you here earlier, I am surprised he waited so long… you need to rest before a transition; your magics are already building up. You will have to make do with a tea that's been under a stasis charm for…' at that point he just turned and looked at Krai, who just stared at him and shrugged, if a snake can shrug that is. He liked Manny, she was a little gruff, but he could tell that was mainly from worry and nerves, there must be other house elves, it was kinda obvious she was used to ordering people about.

'…Now this is the Master suite, it hasn't been refurbished since your parents left, so once you have recovered from your transition we will discuss redecorating it.' Until she turned around to face him, he hadn't even realised they had stopped, he cursed himself when he realised they were in a different corridor entirely (reminded him of first year at Hogwarts when he hadn't paid attention on his first journey to the Gryffindor common room and had subsequently gotten lost for days afterwards), he hoped Krai had noticed which doors they had gone through. But he had no such luck Krai was fast asleep on his shoulder.

'Now then Master Harry you go in there and have a nice bath, my daughter Lynny will have run you a bath and laid out some night things for you. I am going to go down to the potions store and find you some of the stronger pain blocking potions, they will have to do until the morning as I am sure that you have not had chance to brew any of the recommended ones…' she gave him a disapproving look that reminded him of Hermione 'I will send my daughter to master Remus with an order for some pre-made potions from the apothecary in Hogsmeade, he should be able to get there without trouble and send them here. The merchants in Diagon Alley would tell anyone who asked what you had bought and we don't need that information to appear in the prophet do we. Manny hates that paper for what they say about Master, forewarned is forearmed as they say and their wand search puzzles are the best…' she was just mumbling to herself as she walked off now, so he thought he'd better get in to his room and close the door before she turned around to berate him for something else.

When he turned around, he found himself in a large room that was easily the size of his Aunt and Uncles house, doubled. It was absolutely breathtaking, as with most of the rooms something moved, in here it was the paint on the walls. The room itself was two stories high, two curving staircases of wrought iron painted white reached down to surround an enormous four poster bed, trimmed in blue and white velvets and satins. At the top of these stairs was a small landing with a latticed double door surrounded by latticed windows seeming to open the room to the elements. This led out onto a balcony overlooking the grounds, the view stretched for miles, directly below was a manicured garden and a maze but behind that was a large wood that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, it surrounded the manor on all sides, there was a lake quite near by and a mountain in the distance.

The carpet was of light blue and so soft it felt like you were walking on air; it came down the stairs and flowed over the floor like a waterfall. He took his shoes and socks off just to check the softness of it. The rest of the room continued this theme, the bed was on a raised dais and was so high you had to use a small set of steps just to get on it. In the centre of the room were two circular couches surrounding a large oval coffee table. On the far side of each staircase was a double door, the one on the left led into a walk in closet that he would need a marauders map to get out of and on the right was an en suite bathroom with a sunken tub the size of a small lake, it had around twenty or so taps with multicoloured jewels in, just like the prefects bathroom at Hogwarts. Once you closed the door it was almost like there was nothing to stop the outside world from looking in on you. It was almost like a gilded glass house, the window illusions showing stars and the surrounding wood, the glow of the candle light gave it an almost romantic glow. Hot, steaming water was rising from the tub in clouds, without further thought he stripped, ignoring the faint bruises all over his body that protested at the movement. He slid into the water great fully and a moment later, Krai joined him. He complained for awhile about their being no salt in the water but said the warmth reminded him of home. Harry allowed himself to relax he was finally away from the Dursleys and shortly he would be an adult and Dumbledore couldn't force him to go back. He could request, order and manipulate but he couldn't make him, he wouldn't listen to the order anyway.

Unfortunately those thought made him think of his coming transition and he worried.

**_Do not worry Massster, the elf isss fussing ssshe hasss had no one to tend to for ssso long. The pain for you thisss night Massster will be non-exissstent. Your magic will increassse firssst and will then protect you from your body, tomorrow morning you will be in ssslight discomfort asss the changesss will be complete and the magic will have ceasssed to protect you ssso that it can be ussed for other thingsss._**

_**What changesss can I expect**_

**_Nothing sss ssseriousss yet, Massster. I believe your body will change into what it ssshould have been if you had lived with your parentsss. The environment in which you live affectsss you, you sssee. And finally you will be the perssson you are meant to be_**

_**Sssso I will not become a creature, I have no hidden blood**_

**_That I cannot anssswer we will have to resssearch, you may have, it isss very posssssible but creature blood manifesssstssss ssslowly, you will see no visible change for monthsss yet if there isss one_**

_**Well thatsss one lessss thing to worry about for now**_

After a while he stirred enough from the dose he had fallen into to realise he'd better get out before he drowned himself. After putting on the black robe with green borders that had the initials HP on the left breast, he went back into the bedroom where he found Hedwig asleep on a perch he hadn't noticed before next to a rock pool surrounded by sand and soil with a few grassy plants growing on it that he also hadn't noticed before. Feeling too tired to think about it he crossed to the coffee table where he noticed a covered tray. He ate his fill of the pasta dish provided, which was absolutely gorgeous and read the note that had been tucked under his plate. The two bottles on the tray were pain suppressing potions, he was to take one now just in case and leave the other for the morning. He did as he was told and crossed to his bed noting that Krai was buried half way in soil and his tail dangled in the rock pool. He smiled at both of them, out for the count and then got in his bed and joined them in sleep.

Krai was right, Harry only felt a small twinge for a moment before it subsided, he didn't even wake from slumber. But Krai had awoken before midnight and had settled on Harry's pillow to watch over his charge as the changes began. And when the change was done he hissed in approval, his snake Lord would have no problems. No problems at all. Such power. It wasn't time to tell him about the creature blood yet, he would reject it. Soon though, soon… his snake Lord would come into his own and the Dark Snake Lord would fall.

'**_Yesssss…' _**he thought approvingly, before curling up to sleep, he would wake his charge in the morning, he couldn't wait to see the pleasure on Harry's face.****

A/N…

On the subject of Manny not acting like a house elf. I did that on purpose, the reason for which I did this is as yet open to debate as I have not fully decided on her part in the story. I will give you two of my reasons for her character and let you decide which fits most.

First I thought what happened to Harrys grandparents, is Harry the only orphan in the family? If something had happened to them and like Harry, James had no other family who would raise him? His house elf? An I thought we all know James reputation as a Marauder and that Sirius is his best friend and both of them together are a little tough to handle, well what if Manny was the only one around who could control them? Would she just let her Master run around and be an idiot all the time, no, that would be self destructive (she has no control at Hogwarts though) and a house elf who is set a task cant not do it e.g. Winky n Crouch jr. So what if James n Lily had to leave suddenly with little Harry and she heard no word from them or about them until the day after Harry 'Lived' and has since then spent the last seventeen years on her own apart from her daughter. And has had to take over as unofficial master of the house, keep it clean etc. And because of this is used to ordering her daughter around and hasn't been able to come to terms with having a Master again yet.

That's my reasoning you no like, complain. But she isn't going to be in it much anyway, so if you don't like her don't worry/


	7. Chapter 7

So here is what you've all been waiting for the morning after Harry's transition.

Chapter 6: The Mornin' After…

He opened his eyes and that was a struggle in itself, never mind getting up, and he wondered why he was outside. He was on his back and above him was a light blue sky with white clouds that passed him by. It took his brain a moment more to wake up and then he remembered, he tried to sit up but he couldn't. He knew where he was now, the master bedroom, he was staring at the ceiling, a ceiling that along with the walls had been enchanted to resemble the sky outside, like Hogwarts. Seemed his parents had loved the castle as much as he did.

There was a soft hissing next to him, he turned his head to find Krai regarding him steadily.

_**What**___ he asked.

Instead of answering him Krai just tilted his head to the side, Harry looked in the direction he was indicating and found a full length mirror in the far corner. Why would he need a mirror that size? Realising that Krai wouldn't stop staring until he did what he wanted, he closed his eyes and stretched, preparing to move. His eyes shot open as a sharp ache spread from his toes to his head. And he remembered. It seemed that little jolt of discomfort had brought his memory back into line. He was never at his best on a morning. Deciding that he'd better see the damage, he pushed back the covers and slid his legs out from underneath the rest of them. Once the cool air touched his bare feet, he sat up. He groaned when he did, wanting nothing more than to fall back onto the bed and go back to sleep, but another hiss from Krai stopped him. He rubbed his eyes, trying unsuccessfully to get rid of that glued together feeling that was so annoying first thing on a morning and winced when he shifted a few strands of hair from one side of his head to the other, his scalp felt so tender. And it felt wrong, dry, flaky and crusted.

He brought his hand away and found little flecks of red-brown attached to his skin, he turned back to his pillow and almost jumped out of the bed, it was stained crimson and red-black blood had dried in a little pool in the depression where his head had been, strands of black hair and pieces of skin protruded from the mess. He turned back round not wanting to look anymore and was almost relieved when he couldn't see his image reflected in the mirrors glass. He reached his hands up to his ears almost afraid of what he would find and was relieved when he felt no change. His body baring his aches didn't feel any different, he was a little bit weak but that was obviously due to the alterations in his magic and not to mention the blood loss. Wherever that was from?

Deciding that he better take a look in the mirror, he finally stood and promptly fell back onto the bed, his legs failing to support him. They felt strange, deciding that now he had to find out what was going on, he rubbed them trying to ease the strain and when he stood again he remained upright although he was still a bit shaky. He walked towards the mirror, slowly and with increasing discomfort. He started to see his image in the very bottom of the mirror, he walked forward not knowing that he left a trail of dried blood in his wake. The mirror at first just reflected the top of his head, his hair was all over and there was more on his head than there had ever been before. Slowly his face came into view, his skin was tinged almost pink, both from blood and the fact that his skin was nothing but raw, abraded flesh.

_**And then he was looking at his whole face and he gasped.**_

_**The changesss do not ssstop if there are thingsss that magic can ssstill change. In that place you lived, you were ssstunted, underfed, like a plant that asss been kept in the dark. Ssstunted…without light, thisss changesss your body and mind. And can kill you if happensss too long. During thessse yearsss magic ssstill growsss, developsss… cannot help you until now. Nothing of yoursss wasss right, if you had lived sssomewhere elsse you would have been thisss way.**_ Harry stepped closer to the mirror.

_**Why isss my **__**hair's sso long?**_

_**Ssssince you did not live that life, physssical changesss made by yourssself,**__** and othersss don't exissst. That isss why you sssee clearly now, your eyesss due to your life there, were damaged. Your magic hasss changed you into the perssson, life would have made you…you would never have worn glasssesss if your parentsss had not died.**_

_**Yeh, many other thing**__**sss wouldn't have happened to me asss well. And many more thingsss, thingssss that would have been good. **_ he said bitterly.

_**S**__**sssimple thingsss?**_ Krai asked.

_**Yeh sssimple thing**__**ss, like playing a board game on a rainy day. Your Mother asssking you what you did in ssschool. Playing football with your Dad. Thingsss like that.**_

He looked in the mirror again, he didn't know how to react to the changes he could see but maybe that was because of the blood still covering his body, the image wasn't exactly pleasant. Come to think of it his life wasn't pleasant, his whole life had been hard, only at Hogwarts had he felt like he was worth something. Only at Hogwarts, everything good he had ever known came from that world. But from that world came other things, enemies, hatred and the scar that made his name famous. He had grown up oppressed by his only family, but when he got to Hogwarts it wasn't as 'happy ever after' as he thought it would be, had those years in their own way took as much of a toll on him as the Dursleys had?

_**Voldemort took a lot from **__**me. More than I ever realisssed.**_

_**Only if you let him Massster.**_ Harry just nodded.

_**If you g**__**o into the bathroom Massster a bath hasss been run.**_

He did as he was told and found that several hours in a permanently hot bath did wonders for the aches in his muscles and by the time he got out and dressed, he was feeling more like himself. The weak feeling was gone, but that was probably due to the double dose blood replenishing potion and the numbing potion he had found on the coffee table and took before his bath. He had known that his hair had grown but he hadn't known it had grown that much, he was eager to see how long it actually was. With almost his usual amount of energy he went back into the bedroom to find a clean bed and a covered dish on the coffee table. He didn't think he'd see much of Manny, as Dobby had said "the mark of a good house elf is that you don't know he's there" and he couldn't say he was disappointed really. Seeing Krai 'sit up' expectantly from his perch on the bed, he crossed to the mirror.

He liked what he saw now, better than what he had seen earlier. If this was what he looked like before his creature blood manifested, what would he look like with it? If he had any, but for some reason he knew he would. Imagine if he had Veela blood. He looked at himself critically, trying to see himself how other people would see him. The first thing you noticed, were his eyes, no longer hidden by his glasses they seemed to glow brighter. And as lenses made your eyes seem either larger or smaller (in his case smaller), his now seemed a lot larger. They were framed by thick lashes and he was sure they would be the first thing you saw across a crowded room.

His eyes, that were now a brighter and more polished variety of emerald when combined with his now refined face, created quite the effect. His features were sleeker, his cheekbones more pronounced and his soft jaw had hardened giving his face a more chiselled look. But a softness still remained, which came from the large, expressive eyes and the soft slightly full lips. His skin was un-blemished, no scars (baring of course the obvious one) remained, no freckles or beauty spots, nothing. His skin was more obviously golden now and his unruly hair was gone, instead it fell almost completely straight, all the way down his back to his knees. It kinda reminded him of that Lou Diamond Phillips guy when he was in that film… Young Guns 2. Though sleeker, more controlled, which was something he never thought he'd think about his hair. If he didn't know better, he'd say that his creature blood had manifested and that he was…an elf. But he didn't have the ears and if it could manifest this early Krai would have told him…no that was still to come and he couldn't imagine what would happen to him when it did.

He then turned his attention to his body, he was taller, he could tell, he guessed he was not 5 10 maybe 5 11, he didn't know for sure. He had always been skinny but overnight he had filled out. He'd say he was more lithe now, than anything. The muscles he had built up as a seeker were even more prominent now. The only thing that stood out and did so glaringly, was the scar, his skin was so smooth now it made it look like a jagged crack in a marble statue. He had changed, in more ways than one and he couldn't help thinking the change was for the better. Yes he would probably get more attention now, but for once he felt that he looked like a hero, a saviour.

And now that he thought about it he could feel the difference, before he had been too tired but after his relaxing soak earlier he had felt better, more awake, more alive. It wasn't the same as the feeling you got after a good nights rest. It was different it was like his body had been revitalised, it was almost like static electricity was coursing through his veins. He knew that this had to be his magic, he was grateful, ecstatic really, it meant he had a chance to survive this war but he hoped it wouldn't feel like this all the time. His skin was constantly tingling now, if it didn't go away he supposed he would get used to it. He couldn't wait to find out what he could do. He expected that Krai would know exactly what he could and couldn't do. And he was quite right, Krai did know what he could do, in fact he was having trouble thinking off something Harry couldn't do.

A/N… hope you guys liked it, I struggled a bit describing Harry how I pictured him in my mind. I'll try an reinforce his appearance in the next chapter, I think we need to see how people will react to him now.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N…Hey guys, just to say I luv u all. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, though I wouldn't mind a few more, this is definitely doing better elsewhere.

Chapter 7: Answers

For the rest of the day Harry rested, it had already been quite late when he'd got out of the bath, having slept till well after Midday. His body was slowly getting its strength back. He was actually quite surprised, based on the accounts given in the books he had been expecting worse than this. He tired easily, which Krai told him was perfectly natural, when he had tried to take an awakening potion Krai ad told him not to.

The potion was a way of keeping someone on their feet even when they wanted to keel over, it wouldn't help him his body needed sleep and Krai was going to make sure he got it. He had read for a short while, but since he couldn't practice any of the spells he was trying to learn he soon grew bored. And he just couldn't relax enough to get into one of the novels he had bought. Krai seeing his restlessness had come over to talk to him, he wound himself around Harry's arm (it was his favourite spot), hissing in pleasure when his cold scales came into contact with Harry's warm skin.

Krai and Hedwig had just been out hunting together, he could feel the bulge of Krai's meal pressed against him. Hedwig was perched on the edge of his bed cleaning her feathers. It surprised him that the two had become such good friends so quickly after meeting, it was strange though sometimes he had the feeling that they could talk to each other. And if they could, he'd bet everything that they talked about him.

It was then that Krai began talking, first he spoke of his life behind glass and how this existence was so much better, but then he asked how Harry had lived until now. He hadn't answered at first, his life had been hard and talking about something like that was difficult, mainly because it was something you wanted to forget about as soon as possible.

He didn't think Krai would let him forget anything though, he'd probably just tell him that life makes you what you are, every single moment of it and Harry knew that he was right, he just didn't have to like it. So he suggested an exchange, a question for a question. But anything the other refused to speak about was forgotten, as long as he had a good enough reason. Krai agreed.

Krai had asked him many questions and Harry in turn had asked Krai questions, mainly about his life to date but he had asked other questions. Questions that just came to his mind, questions that hadn't been there one instant, but were so obviously there the next it was almost like they had just snuck into his mind unannounced and his mind hadn't minded in the least. When this fancy had taken him over he'd asked about himself.

First he'd asked Krai, "do you know what creature blood I have?" and Krai had answered that he did indeed know. He had said that he wouldn't lie to him, he'd known all along. But he wouldn't tell him what he would become. And had stated quite firmly that he did have a reason for this and that when he thought Harry was ready to know he would tell him. Harry had accepted his answer, until he remembered what he had asked Dumbledore and how long it had took _him_ to answer it.

At that point Krai had wound himself tighter around _his_ arm and said that he would know the answer soon. That the creature he would become was not found in many modern books and was barely even remembered in the world, he was something rare and altogether too wonderful to be believed. And that he himself would doubt until confronted with the evidence and may even reject what he was then, not understanding the full import of it. He had to be prepared for the answer, the whole answer.

He had accepted that and had moved on.

For his other questions he had simply asked Krai more about his blood, which side of his family it had come from, the answer was both. That had led to another one of those 'taken over' moments and he had asked, do I have more than one blood? To which Krai had said…he couldn't yet say. That had frustrated Harry, all his life people had hid things from him, but in his mind he knew that Krai would never treat him like that and he knew anyway, that the longest he would have to wait would be a year, on his eighteenth birthday, the transformation, whatever it was would be complete.

Those that Krai asked him, were altogether too easy and too difficult, some of the things he had asked him, he hadn't even thought about himself. Mainly what he thought of himself, how confident he was in certain situations, who his friends were, his enemies, if he had ever loved? Harry's answer to this had been a blush, he hadn't loved, he'd liked but he hadn't loved. Somehow he couldn't see that in his future.

_**Do you wantsss it**_

_**Yes**__**sss**_

_**Then why do you nots believe you could have it. Your problem Harry isss confidence. Tell me truthfully what do you think of yourssself**_

After a moments thought he had answered.

_**What ssshould I think of myssself? Ssssince I can remember I wasss worthlesss, sssomething to be tolerated, like a bad sssmell the sssource of which you can't find. Then I wasss a hero, the one boy dessstined before birth to rid the world of itsss greatessst threat, godssss, that sssoundss s'so pathetic. But whenever I go back there now I'm a freak, worssse than I wass before. And what if I can't defeat Voldemort, the prophecy ssaysss "the one with the power" it ssayss nothing about me actually doing it, all it ssaysss iss that I could do it. Sssometimess itsss all too much, why me? I don't think I could. And I don't want to be a murderer**_

Krai shook his head softly.

_**Your mind doesssn't let you ressst doess it? Why are you a freak, when a whole world of peopless like you exissst? Or do you think you are a freak becausse of the dessstiny that hasss s'run your life**_

_**Which sssshould I think, the world can't make itss mind up. To the Dursssleysss I'm a freak, to their neighboursss I'm a criminal and they don't talk to me to find out if thatssss s'true, they just **__**assume its s'true. Then there'ssss the wizarding world, I'm the boy who lived. To sssome that title makesss them want to kill me, the othersss want me to ssstand in front of them and take every hit, cosss I can't die. Not until one certain day, after I've done one certain task. And then they call me deluded, attention ssseeking or think I'm the next dark lord. How ssshould I feel, even when my own friendsss turn on me, who do I believe…no wonder I'm confusssed**_

_**Why sss do you care what other'ssss think. I wasss not asssking what they think of you and that wasss all the anssswer you gave me. Do you believe what they sssay**_

_**Yesss, no, sssometimesss**_

_**Why**_ he persisted. Harry was silent for so long, Krai thought that he would refuse to answer the question. It hadn't happened yet, he had phrased them all carefully, not to pry too much but enough to get the answer he needed. Maybe he had gone too far this time.

_**I killed my parentsss**_ The hissing was so low Krai barely heard it. Noting his Masters pale face, he moved higher, circling his Masters neck. He wished he had arms to give comfort but his words would have to suffice.

_**You didn't, how could you. Did you break into their housse, did you point the wand…no you didn't. You were probably sssleeping until he came. Why blame yourssself when ssso many othersss could be blamed alssso. Why not blame Dumbledore for not being ssstrong enough to kill him, why not blame the Minissstry for the ssame reasssson**_ He hesitated a moment over the next words. _**You could even blame your parentsss**_ Harry looked at him shocked.

_**You could blame them Harry, for defying him three timesss and placing the burden on your ssshoulderss but you do not and nor ssshould you, their part wasss unwitting and sso wass yoursss. You weren't even born how can you blame yourssself. The only perssson you can blame iss the dark lord. Everything he hasss ever done hass brought you to thisss, blame him not yourssself. Never blame yourssself for the actionsss of othersss, Harry, or you will end up hating yourssself forever**_.

Later once he had calmed down, Krai asked him to play a little word game, one where they give you a word and you have to say the first thing that pops into your head. Krai wanted to ask him words and he wanted Harry to tell him who he knew who fit the word best.

The words Krai used were:

**Good,** to which he had answered Hermione, that had been almost without thinking. She had never done anything to hurt him.

**Bad,** He'd said Dudley.

**Light**, Dumbledore.

**Dark**, Snape.

**Evil**, Voldemort.

**Fun,** Weasley Twins.

**Angry,** Ron.

**Family**, Remus.

**Trust,** Neville.

Those were the words he could remember. Krai had asked him others

The last thing he had asked him was…

_**Whatsss of the Malfoy boy, the one sss you talked to before you sss found me**_

He'd thought then, what did he really think about Malfoy. He was pompous, arrogant, annoying, viscious…that was the Malfoy he had always known and was about to tell Krai that he thought Malfoy was a git…but then he remembered Draco. The boy in the Alley had been none of those things. Harry was startled to realize that he had called Malfoy Draco, only in his mind but still. It was strange but it didn't feel wrong to call him that, not when he was thinking of the Alley but when he thought of school he was still Malfoy.

Finally he gave Krai an answer.

_**Confusssion, that isss what he makesss me feel**_

A/N…

As always…

If you've Read then please Review.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks go to Lady K Malfoy and EqyptianFirefly for reviewing.

EgyptianFirefly…All of the names bar a couple of them will be significant later on. Snape and Remus especially.

A/N… just to remind you guys, in this fic a bond occurs between two individuals when one of them feels the need to share power. But the bond can lead the two to be either mates or enemies. A person can only have one bond at a time. This is because the mate side of the bond is naturally exclusive, but the enemy side of the bond leads the two to destroy each other. Voldemort for example is Harrys enemy, but it is not a bond between them. Even though it appears to be. The magic of a person decides who it wants to bond with. But in Harry and Voldemorts case, it was the combination of Lily's magic and the prophecy which resulted in the exchange of power.

So Harry is still able to bond with someone…Yay.

Chapter 8: A Letter

Krai waited until Harry was asleep, he then slithered away from his Master. As he moved, he thought of his Master and what he was about to do. He had asked the Master many questions, the answers had been interesting, but what he was most interested in was the people his Master knew. He would ask more questions later, but the answers he had now were enough for him to begin. The Master had spoken of people as he had asked and the white owl had told him what they looked like, as far as any owl can describe a walker.

The good one, Her-minoe was interesting to him. The owl had spoken of how they first came to be friends, Hedwig boasted that Harry told her everything. _Not everythingsss white owl, not everythingsss._ He smiled his snakish smile, which basically meant showing his fangs, the owl almost acted like Harry's life giver. And if he had learnt anything about walkers they did not always speak to their life givers.

It seemed to him that the good one, was an odd friendship for his Master to have. Then again most of his friends were odd, they were all lions, he could tell by the way his Master spoke of them. The snakes had more interesting sounds to their names. It was strange that the angry one, Ron, was the first friend Harry 'found', he wondered if his Master would still consider that particular human a friend if he weren't the first friend he made. 

The twins and Nev-ll were important to his Master, almost as important as the good one but more important than the angry one. His human was changing, becoming grown and from what the owl said, the angry one was not. His needs in friends would change, but the biggest change would come when the Master changed. When the bloods appeared his Master would need a mate. One mate and one mate only. Many humans mated with many other walkers, his human had not done this yet. Which would help him, when the time came. A pure mate was the best mate.

And that was the problem, finding his humans mate. His human was powerful more powerful than anyone realized and his mate would be powerful also. Many humans had said that knowing a name gave you power, but to a snake a name told you everything about a person. The good one, was kind, smart but she wasn't powerful enough to bond and mate with his human. The angry one was disregarded completely, the boy was powerless and the little power he did possess was incompatible with Harry's.

The twins were nice, funny, powerful, but he knew twins were a set, almost like mates themselves. One was the dominant in the partnership and the other was the submissive. If a bond was created with one or both of the twins, the dominant of the two would not be content to allow Harry to lead and even if he didn't intend to, his magic would reach out and take Harry's, leaving his Master vulnerable.

The man Remus would be the best choice for his mate, but he was a man, not a young one. And he was dominant. It was a shame, if the man were younger he would be perfect. Familial feelings were soon overcome by the urge to mate in unrelated humans. A mate that was older, even if he were the submissive would attempt to lead his charge, never allowing their mate to make their own mistakes. Their intentions were for the best and in a lot of cases the relationship worked. But that was not what his Master needed, his Master needed a submissive that would allow him to make the decisions, to rule by his side and abide by his decisions.

The others he had mentioned were not suitable, for other reasons. Snape was a submissive and if he was not mistaken was in denial over his own mate. Voldemort, was dominant and evil. Dumbledo-re, was too good, also dominant but there was something wrong with him that Krai couldn't quite figure out. Both were way too old and would overwhelm his Master. Dudley was a muggle, so unable to share power, useless. And Neville, too submissive, would never contradict his mate when his mate made a bad decision. That left the last name to be mentioned, the one he had asked specifically about.

There was possibility there. He was obviously submissive, the way he bowed down to his fathers wishes was a clear indication of that. But there was a little bit of a dominants nature in him, if the stories Hedwig had told him were even half true. Hhhmmm, the leader of the Slytherins but only the leader by default. If Harry had allowed himself to be sorted into Slytherin he would rule the snake pit. That was another issue that had to be addressed, winning the respect of the snakes. Easily done, most snakes were followers, whether dominant or submissive. Yes, easily done, win over the leader the rest will follow.

The Malfoy boy, (he had missed his first name he would have to ask the owl) was interesting. Hedwig had told him about the boy, how he and _his_ Master had fought almost everyday for the last six years. They couldn't seem to stay away from each other. But was this just luck or the fact that they lived together in one place for the majority of the year. He didn't think it was that simple. He had been listening to Harrys thoughts earlier while he read the blue book. His thoughts of bonding with a familiar had made Krai smile. But when he had mentioned bonding with another soul, a longing so deep, down in the depths of Harry's mind had surfaced, it disappeared so quickly that his Master didn't feel it. But _he_ did.

His Master wanted a mate. A familiar would never be enough for him. Harry would love Krai and trust him for the rest of their lives. But Harry needed more. His human had never experienced the feelings a mate could give him. And that was wrong. He hadn't even felt the love of a life giver and that was wrong. He was insecure about this also. He knew he could love and that someone could love him but he believed that those he loved would always be taken from him in one way or another. He needed a mate to feel worthy and secure. A mate that could never leave him, because they were his mate.

His snake lord would mate for life, they would be together forever. But he couldn't tell Harry this or his Master would know that he had been in his mind. It would take Harry a long time to accept that intrusion, so he could never mention mates until Harry brought it up. But his humans insecurities would also work against him in this. If he did not believe he had the power for the bond, he would never ask about it and as a consequence would not believe it to be true. Everything came down to Harry's confidence, it was the most important thing, he had to focus on it. His Masters magic would choose his mate, but Krai could always anticipate.

He was sure, the Malfoy boy was Harry's mate. Everything fit, he was a suitable age, he was a submissive that would also advise and he always sought Harry out. That had to be the possible bond, unfortunately because of the boys father the bond was heading down the volatile path. At the moment the bond was still reversible, but that was only because of Voldemort.

The dark snake lord was his Masters main enemy and as long as Harry considered him so and didn't defeat him, the bond with Malfoy couldn't develop to the ultimate end. If he was correct and Malfoy was Harry's mate, he had to change the situation soon. To change the potential bond from enemy to mate he would have to lessen the impact of the father on the son. Then the boy would have to be friendly to Harry, the bond would sense the lessening of hostility and move more towards the mate side. Doing this would be harder than increasing Harry's confidence.

He slithered up to the ornate desk in the corner and crept up the table leg. After checking the connection between him and his Master and finding Harry was asleep, he opened himself to Harrys magic and allowed it to flow into him. The white owl sensing what he was about to do, glided over to the desk to watch. Hissing words, he unrolled a sheet of parchment and took a quill from the case on the desk. Using his Masters instinctive control he shaped some energy into a solid form and used it to hold down the corners of the parchment, to stop it from rolling back up. After a moment he used a modified _wingardium leviosa_ to hold and control the quill as he dipped it in the ink pot and brought it to the parchment. Pausing a moment, he turned to the white owl and asked…  
_what is the name of the young Malfoy_

The answer she gave him shocked him to the core. He lost control of the magic energy and the quill clattered on the desk, splashing ink all over them. He couldn't believe it, was it really that obvious…

As the owls indignant hooting came to his mind, he realized Harry was waking, he sent his Master calming feelings and pretty soon Harry was asleep again. The owl by now had stopped hooting. Again he tapped into the magic and used it to perform a cleansing charm. He then picked up the quill and wrote…

_Draco_

Later after many starts and pauses he read over his letter…

_Draco_

Was that man who came out your Father? Was he mad at you for some reason? I didn't get you in trouble did I? I hope not. There aren't many people here I can talk to. Im not used to talking to people, my Father doesn't like me much. He never lets me talk to anyone, unless it helps him in some way. He's ashamed of me. He left my mother when I was young, but came back to see me a few years ago. He was disappointed. He showed up every so often and complained about me. He listed my many faults.

Im living with him now, my Mother died so he had to take me. He doesn't like me talking to people. The only reason I saw you the other day is because I was on my own, he was away but wanted me to get him something from Diagon Alley. You were right I had never been in Knockturn Alley before and I had never seen a dark arts shop before either. I went in by mistake and thought I'd have a look around. I know I bothered you at first but I hope that changed.

I will be sending you this with my owl, she will wait for a reply or a dismissal…

Aidan

He was happy with it. He hoped Malfoy would reply, it would be so much easier if he did.

Using a little bit more magic he sealed the letter and placed a glamour over Hedwig. He then told her what to do and watched as she flew out of sight. He hoped this would work.


	10. Chapter 10

Ok when writing this I lost the first two chapters to a virus so if you notice a difference in writing style that may have something to do with it.

Thanks to Lady K. Malfoy for reviewing.

Chapter 9: Wh...what did I do?

Harry awoke the following morning with a smile on his face and no knowledge of what Krai had done in the night. He was happy and content and his body felt wonderful, he felt complete. Almost like something he had never known was missing had suddenly come back to him. He stood and stretched, took a shower and then walked with a spring in his step back into the bedroom He felt…perfect. He hadn't told Krai but yesterday he had still felt weak and his body had ached, but today he felt fine as if something had just clicked into place. He ate his breakfast with relish and decided that today was the perfect day to go exploring around the manor. It was raining outside, he didn't mind the rain but today he wanted to stay warm and dry.

As he was leaving the room Krai appeared at his feet.

**Where are you going** the tone was not accusatory, nor was it demanding, he was just curious.

Because of that Harry answered with his good mood intact. **I am going for a walk around the houssse**

**  
Sssiince you are feeling better it would be a good idea to do so, I wasss going to assk you to take a tour of the magic roomsss with me  
**

**Why  
**

**Now that your transssition isss over we can measssure your power levelsss and essstimate the level you will reach at eighteen and try out sssome new thingsss** that last bit was a bit too tempting for Harry to resist but he had to at least appear to be thinking it over.

**What new thingsss** he asked.

**Ssssss sss sss, wait and sssee**. The snake was laughing at him, but it didn't matter, he was interested.

Krai was a hitchhiker for the rest of the morning. He sat on Harry's shoulder, the middle of his long body was wrapped around Harry's neck and his tail curled around the shoulder and midway down the arm. His 'neck' was arched and he was using his head to point out things of interest. By that point Harry thought he was more like a back seat driver than a hitchhiker. Their first mission was to find the entrance hall as neither of them had paid attention on their first night and Krai had been too busy monitoring Harry's magic to slither about before. He hadn't yet told his Master that his magic levels had not stabilized until last night. That was why he had finally been able to leave Harry's side to write the letter to the Malfoy boy.

They found the entrance hall after a while. Upon leaving the Master bedroom they had entered the small corridor that Harry remembered from his first night. There were several other bedrooms all along the corridor, not as grand as the Master bedroom but still beautiful. There were four rooms that were done up in the colours of the Hogwarts houses. Krai couldn't explain this to him. But said they were obviously for people of importance with a strong link to each house. There were several other bedrooms all in different colours, none so obviously colour divided as the founders rooms, more a mixture of similar shades. They all had motif's one made him think of fire, another water, earth, air, ice/snow, lightning and other things. In each room there was a real window and an illusion window, usually on the walls leading to the en-suites bathrooms. Each illusion was unique and seemed to be the main focal point of the room even though they were some times less obvious than other things.

Then he found something strange, he wanted to go back into a room but when he did he found that the room was a different one. Another that he had been in earlier but not the one he wanted. Trying other doors he found the rooms kept switching. It was almost like they weren't really there and had no use. When asked, Krai just said that there was no one in the manor to suit them. Which was strange but it kinda made sense.

They finally found a door that didn't lead to another room, but didn't actually lead to the long corridor from the first night. It was a sort of…antechamber, faceted like the sideways view of a gemstone with two other doors leading from it. Opposite him and the other two doors was an open arch and looking through he glimpsed the long corridor from before. The two other doors led to two lots of guests rooms, one grander than the other.

Walking down the long corridor they tried every door. The first opened onto stairs that led up to the attic rooms which were dusty and full of old trunks and boxes and other things. He promised himself he'd look through them all another day.  
Opposite was another staircase that led to the receiving room from the first night which was next to the entrance hall. There were three doors leading out of the receiving room, the first led into the dining room, the second led into the entrance hall and the third into a hallway.

The dining room was very light and airy, the walls were different shades of creams with cherry wood panelling, burnished until gleaming. There were no figures carved into the wood, but what host wanted to be throwing a dinner party and have his guests constantly staring at the walls. Every so often there was a painting, all relaxing images like seascapes and sunsets, all beautifully rendered. There were no portraits, this was so that the guests did not become uncomfortable or intimidated by long dead ancestors. Impressive chandeliers with non drip candles graced the ceiling. And a magnificent table with high backed chairs and old fashioned candelabras spanned almost the whole length of the room, which was quite considerable. There was a door leading from the dining room and the receiving room that led to a cosy conservatory.

Across the hallway from the dining room was the library. A large grand fireplace stood at the far end bordered by two latticed windows. There were several other long windows around the room, the rest of the walls were actually floor to ceiling bookshelves. All filled with a wide assortment, all filed with the muggle dewey decimal system, he remembered it from school. Several comfy chairs and couches, as well as study tables dominated the middle of the room. There was also a staircase heading downwards in one corner of the library. Off the library was an oak panelled study, obviously for the Master of the house. Next to the study was a muggle gym, with a rather large swimming pool. Opposite it was the lady's solar and gentlemen's smoking room.

In the library near the staircase was a concealed door that only Krai spotted. After opening it (which required some of Harry's blood) they found the private family areas. A cosy sitting room with a private conservatory, there was a music room and a small private dining room.

They then headed down to the basement level where they found a potions lab and store room that would have made Snape drool. There was a warded training area for magic use, a private study and library with books and artefacts that put the Hogwarts restricted section to shame. They found the kitchen by smell, but found no door into it. And one final room that he couldn't seem to get into, a sign on the door proclaimed "Vaults". He didn't know what was in there but Krai seemed to, he said to leave it alone for now and Harry agreed with him. Somehow he knew not to go in their, yet.

They returned to their room and had an early lunch, Krai then directed him back to the warded room.

**Now Massster, activate the wardsss. You do thisss by pricking your finger and painting over the rune on the door in blood** Harry walked back to the door and sure enough there was a white rune over the door, he vaguely recognised it as being "protection". How he knew that he had no idea, probably Hermione had shown him once and he just happened to remember.

**How do you know all thisss** he asked.

**I think asss I am your familiar, I know everything you need, ssssomehow. It'sss deep magic, old magic, the familiar bond. Datesss from the time of the foundersss you know  
**

**The foundersss  
**

**Yesssss, Gryffindorsss wasss a lion, Hufflepuffsss a badger, Ravenclawsss an eagle and Ssslytherinsss a sssnake, itsss no coincidence they choossse them asss their sssymbolsss**

Nodding Harry pricked his finger with the dagger he had brought and painted over the rune with his blood. The moment he completed it, the rune flashed and a wave of static electricity seemed to flow all along the walls, ceiling and floors.

**That isss a very ssstrong ward** Krai stated, his shock evident.

**Now Massster, I wisssh you to only ssspeak to me now with your mind. We mussst make sssure the link isss asss sssstrong asss it can be**

_Can you hear me Master?_ Harry struggled for a moment to calm his mind.

_I hear you._

Good.

Why don't you sound snakish when you speak to my mind?

Because only the mouth creates sounds, the mind projects the words to another. The words only sound in the receivers mind. So they sound how the receiver speaks.

Doesn't exactly make sense but I think I know what you mean.

Good now, do you know how to meditate?

No.

Sit on the floor and get comfortable you will be there for a while. Harry did as he was told.

_Once you are comfortable, relax your mind. Breathe slowly, in through the nose and out through the mouth._ Once he was sure Harry was calm enough he entered Harry's mind and projected a physical image of himself for Harry to see in his head.

_Now Harry form a room around me, a bare room with nothing in it bar a door…good, now behind this door is your magic. The door blocks it from the world (the door is your control). Over the years it has become instinctive to open it and close. When you were young and did all those strange and uncontrolled things…_

Like turn my teachers wig blue?

Yes, those types of things happened because the door was open and never closed, so the magic could slip out whenever it wanted. Now prepare yourself and open the door.

He did as he was told and when he did…

He was lying on a stone floor, which was surprisingly warm (probably under floor heating). Krai was curled up on his chest, seeking warmth.

"Wh…What did I do?"

**Your power flooded your mind and had to be releasssed** He looked around then all the walls were blackened and the protection rune was no longer going.

**Do not worry Massster, the rune held, it was dousssed in your blood. The body housssesss the magic it has to be able to withssstand the maximum power releasssed. That isss why the protection rune isss not limited, if sssomeone more powerful than the rune came along there could be ssseriouss conssequencesss. That iss why I made uss come down here**

Did you actually learn anything by me doing that  


**Yess Massster, if everything elssse failsss, if there iss no other way to kill the dark sssnake lord, you must open up your mind like you just did. No one within at leassst a quarter of a mile would sssurvive  
**

**I don't think I like that idea too many othersss could be hurt  
**

**They could that isss why you will learn containment wards. We will have to create one ssstrong enough to remain intact if you have to unleasssh your power but it can be done. Then only thossse inssside the ward will be dessstroyed. In a sssmaller area, the backlasssh when it hit the wardsss would be enormousss**

And if I am inssside thisss ward, will I sssurvive

No, no one would. That isss why it iss a lasst resssort

They went back to their room, where Krai told him to rest. But he couldn't sleep, so he laid on the bed and watched Krai swim around in the little rock pool that was sunken into his bedroom floor. He looked over to the coffee table hoping that there was a covered tray with food. There was. So he got up and went over, on the tray was a letter…

He wasn't expecting a letter, he wasn't expecting a reply from anyone. In his last letter he'd told Remus not to send him a letter as letters could be traced. It couldn't be his godfather…so who was it. Ron, Hermione…Malfoy? Okay that last one had been a joke.

Shrugging he decided the best way of finding out was to open it and when he picked it up, he relaxed. It was his Hogwarts letter, telling him term started on September the 1st and his list of books for the new year.

_The standard book of spells grade 7, by Miranda Goshawk.  
Advanced Potions, by Scabus Calderon.  
Advanced Transfiguration, by Minerva McGonagall  
Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts: the complete guide to curses and dangerous beasties, by Grudgus McCuss.  
Animagus Transformations made simple, by Vanilla Newt.  
Herbology: So you wanna survive a foraging trip, by Tentaculus Belladonna._

"Animagus transformations, cool." He looked up then when he heard a relieved sigh. Krai looked extremely relieved about something. He put it out of his mind for now he could question the snake later. He looked out the window, it had stopped raining.  
"What do you think about taking a trip to London?"

**Diagon Alley  
**

**Yesss and Muggle London  
**

**Why there Massster** Harry thought for a moment and spoke more to himself than Krai.

"I really need a new wardrobe."

Krai laughed at that, a low hissing sound, more reserved than the laugh Harry had heard earlier.

**That you do Massster, I will accompany you, unless you wisssh to go alone  
**

**No that isss why I asssked you  
**

**Very well Massster, thisss isss the perfect opportunity to further develop our mental connection. Asss talking to a sssnake will get usss noticed  
**

**I'm glad you sssaid that, I have no intention of being recognisssed. I believe my appearance hasss changed enough not to be readily noticeable and I intend to cover my ssscar, I wisssh to know how many people really know me. If they know me they ssshould recognissse me without the ssscar, if not…** he smiled **t'is an interesssting thing to know  
**

**Yesss Massster**


	11. Chapter 11

A/N…Hey guys this is an important note. This is not HBP compatible, so Ron and Hermione don't know about the prophecy.

Other points that haven't needed addressing before…

• Harry never got goin with Ginny and she's still dating Dean Thomas, k?  
• Blaise never appeared in the books until HBP baring his sorting in book 1. I knew he'd be important but I don't like his character in book 6, so he'll be totally different. But he'll still be a snake.  
• Bill n Fleur are still getting married. But Fleurs not stayin at the burrow.  
• I don't know whether I'll bring the horcruxes into it. But I seriously doubt it. It's a good idea, but its JKs idea and I wanna use my own ending. I think I've got a real good one.  
• Harry's taking potions because Dumbledore made Snape lower the grade to get into the NEWTS class. Threatened to fire him as a matter of fact. So Snape had no choice, the excuse given was that not enough students got an O grade, so to make up a class size worth teaching he had to let the Es in too. Which also means Ron's taking potions too.  
• So to clarify Sirius is dead, Dumbledore aint, he's still a manipulative old sod but he's alive. Which means Snape didn't have to kill him and run off with Draco to Voldie. No unbreakable vow and it isn't gonna happen, so don't be looking for it.

I think that's all the important things, if I think a owt else I'll put em in another chapter.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed…

Llama-k'Leysha42

satyr-oh

Lady K. Malfoy

angelkitty77

rellenh

FrequencyQueen

FrequencyQueen…Thankyou for reviewing the reason why nobody told him about Maturity is because they all assumed that Dumbledore would have told him. The power release could be important, either way whether he uses it or not it's an option for him and that's one thing Harry needs, options. Without options he cant make a choice.

Chapter 10: Diagon Alley…again!

Diagon Alley was busier than he thought it would be on a weekday. Surprisingly it was only 3 o clock. He had already been shopping in Muggle London, he'd flooed to Diagon earlier, got quite a bit of money out and changed half of it into muggle currency. He'd bought a wide variety of muggle clothing. He had changed in the shop and thrown 'his' old clothes in the rubbish bin outside. After all he wanted to look his best.

He was now wearing tight black jeans, artfully greyed in places with a silver stitching in the seams…very slytherin, very cool. He was wearing black boots and a grey t-shirt with a black dragon pattern draped over the shoulder and around the neck. He had an old fashioned army dress coat…again in black. It had those high reversed cuffs and a stand up collar. It had emerald green buttons and stitching. Again, very slytherin. He'd left his hair down to flow down his back and when he walked it swayed from side to side and when a breeze came it wrapped around his body tightly in a caress. Krai was also wrapped around his shoulders, he was under the coat where he could be warm.

Harry had never been a vain person, or cared bout his appearance. Of course that was mainly because for most of his life he had had no say in the matter, the only time he had ever done anything was when Aunt Petunia had cut his hair off and his magic had helped it grow back over night. But he could say with confidence that today he looked good. And he didn't feel awkward or insecure, like he always thought he would. No today he felt like he was finally how he wanted to be.

He had thought about getting his hair cut but when he'd mentioned this to the store assistant who was helping him, the girls mouth had fallen open in shock. She'd also told him he was out of his mind. So he was keeping it long.

It seemed that almost all of the Hogwarts seventh years were here today.

He saw Blaise Zabini outside Quality Quidditch Supplies, who looked him up and down and winked…  
"Hey Potter."  
Harry just smiled he was used to Blaise's behaviour, he was a tease and surprisingly fun to hang out with. Not that anyone was to know that.  
"See you at Hogwarts." He replied.  
"Can't wait." The slytherin smirked.  
He walked off a little bit happier with himself. Blaise had recognised him.

_You like that boy._ It wasn't a question.

_Yes he spoke to me last year. We were in the library. He complained loudly about his defence homework. I gave him the answer without thinking, the next day he helped me with my potions._

He has no allegiance to the dark snake lord?

He said even if he wanted to his family would have disowned him. He never really spoke to me before last year, even though he hung around with Malfoy he never said anything to me. After that day in the library we kept running into each other, he was civil, I was polite. Then he joked, I joked back. It was mainly stupid stuff, but he made me feel like I had a friend, other than Ron, Hermione and Neville.

Is it only as a friend you like him?

Yes. He's nice, cute, fun but he doesn't appeal to me like that. If I was ever to do anything with him, I think it'd just be awkward, for both of us. And I don't want that. I don't want to lose his friendship. He's one of the few people I feel I can count on. And its nice to have a friend from another house who I don't feel will turn against me the moment I get bad press.

How come he was not mentioned before?

You didn't give me a word that fitted him.

What would that be?

I don't know…baffling maybe. Yes baffling, sometimes I don't know how to take him, the rest of the time it's like he's saying what I'm thinking.

I see.

He said something quite strange to me once, I've never been able to work it out…

Go on

We were talking about the dark side again. He said there were few in slytherin house that thought as he did. When I asked him why he didn't want to serve the dark lord, he said "there is someone else I'd rather serve". When I asked him whether he meant Dumbledore, he said no.

Hhmm I don't understand either. Krai sent his thought carefully, it was extremely difficult to lie mind to mind. It was possible to lie mind to mind, it was just a different way of speaking but you had to be careful not to send more than you intended. He didn't speak to Harry again for a while, his Master needed to focus his attention on those around him.

Harry knew he looked different but he thought there'd be more people who recognised him. He had almost walked into Seamus and the Gryffindor had just looked him up and down with a little bit of a glint in his eye and had walked off. It didn't make you feel good, but it sure let you know where you stood. He still had the same eyes, fair to well they were shaped slightly differently but they were still bright emerald green. He'd thought people would remember his eyes but as always all they saw was the scar.

Cho Chang had passed him by as well, and if there was one person that he'd thought would recognise him it would have been her. They'd stared into each others eyes so often he thought she'd know them by heart, she was his ex-girlfriend for cryin out loud.

Susan Bones and Ernie MacMillan had walked by him, Justin Finch-Fletchley had looked at him for a moment and had then shook his head and walked off, all three of them were members of the DA. If anyone would recognise him he had expected it to be the DA members. He didn't hold out much hope for the others of the group, he knew them even less.

There were two people who he knew would cheer him up. He went straight to Weasley Wizard Weases, he was in the mood for a joke shop. When he got there he stopped outside, the shop was bursting at the seams. It was chock full of students, most of them second and third years. He turned around and headed back to Flourish and Blotts, he didn't want to bother the twins they were obviously really busy. Krai hissed reassuringly in his ear. His tongue flicking against Harry's ear.

**Do not worry Massster, thossse who love you will know you. Blaisssse recognised you and ssso will othersss.**

I thought they would, but they wont he hissed, his voice low.

**Ssssome do not sssee you, they sssee the boy who lived. The ssscar. Forget them, sssave them when the time comesss but right now they are not important. There are many that don't think like them, itss them that matter. Thossse who touched your life and whossse life you touched will know you. You'll sssee Massster**

He still felt a bit low, but Krai was right. None of the people he had met so far, bar Blaise mattered. He liked them and he would never hurt them, but there were so many others more important to him. Seamus had turned on him before (fifth year), so had Hannah, Ernie and Justin (second, fourth and fifth year) and Cho, that'd never been meant to be. She'd been upset over Cedric and he'd thought she was what he wanted. She wasn't, thinking about it he'd probably been more jealous that she was with Cedric, if she'd have been with another guy he didn't think he'd care.

They went to Flourish and Blotts, where Harry picked up the books he needed for school. He also picked up a few others that looked interesting, surprisingly potions. He knew he needed to improve in the subject, classes didn't matter but life did. He was studying one ponderously heavy tomb, when someone snarled his name.  
"Potter, what are _you_ doing here." That last bit was said with more than a little venom, even though he knew it was an act it still made him angry. He turned around to find Snape, his least favourite teacher glaring at him. Deciding to be honest he told him.  
"If you must know Professor, I am searching for a basic potions text that includes a lot of theory."

Snape continued to glare for a moment, then suddenly he strode forward, robes billowing and picked a book off the shelf to his right. All the while muttering to himself.  
"Typical useless Gryffindors can't even look in the right bloody sections! Almost as bad as Longbottom…surprised can even put a cauldron the way up." Harry tried not to laugh, for some reason he just wanted to laugh at Snape. Usually he'd have been angry for longer but right now he was almost happy to see the git. Snape had recognised him, he felt like jumping for joy, but he thought better of it, Snape'd probably hex him if he did. He just smirked and took the book from him. Snape noticed the smirk and paused mid turn.  
"You better go through that book page by page Potter. For when you get back to school you will be taking remedial potions again. You may have got an exceeds expectations grade at owl level, but the majority of that was from your theory exam not the practical. You will prove to me that you can do every potion on the syllabus for the first four years, before the end of this one. Do I make myself clear?" He said raising an eyebrow.  
"Yes sir!" Snape didn't nod or anything he just turned around and stalked off, robes again billowing. And not for the first time Harry wondered if he charmed them to do that.   
Then he sobered up, _Ah crap occlumency again._

I see why you said he was dark. Krai said in his head. _Dark but not evil!_

You sure about that? Harry asked.

_I am!_

He headed towards the tills and spotted Hermione and Ron down one of the rows. After almost everyone he knew at school had walked past him, he suddenly didn't feel like staying around. But before he could turn around they spotted him. Hermione looked him up and down with no recognition in her eyes. Ron however obviously recognised him, he was pointing and spluttering.  
"What the hell 'appened to you?"  
"Hello Ron." The moment he spoke Hermione's jaw dropped. "Hermione." He nodded, feeling a little bit hurt. But he soon forgot her reaction, he had Ron's shock to deal with.  
"Wow mate, I mean, wow. What happened?"  
"You went through your transition didn't you Harry?" Hermione asked.  
"Bloody hell mate, all I got was a headache!"  
"Yeah guess we know how much damage the Dursleys did to me." He tried to joke, but Ron didn't laugh and neither did Hermione, she just burst out crying and ran towards him.  
"Oh Harry!" Hermione cried flinging her arms around him. "I didn't recognise you, you look, well…you look good."  
"Hermione let the man breathe." Ron said stepping forward and pulling Hermione away. "We tried writing to you the other day mate, but the owls came back with the letters. Did you get our birthday presents?"  
"Yeh I did guys they were great, that book on famous quidditch games was fantastic Ron! The house is warded, only Hedwig can get in or out. I was gonna go to the burrow after I finished here."  
"Well you can come with me mate. Hermione's goin home though."  
"I'm going to France again with my mum and dad. Just for a week though."  
"That'd be great Ron." He said, then turned to Hermione. "Don't worry we can catch up when you get back." She squealed and flung her arms around him again.

They walked around together for a while. Ron needed to go to Madam Malkin's so Harry decided to get some new robes as well.  
"I've been workin at Fred and Georges'. So I'm getting some new robes for once. Malfoy wont be able to say owt then."  
"I don't know Ron, deprive him a one insult he'll think of another."  
"Probably, where we going after?"  
"Leaky Cauldron, gotta tell you guys someat."  
"Alright mate."  
Hermione just nodded.

It was strange being in Madam Malkin's again, with Ron stood next to him. He'd looked in the large mirror on the wall as a first year and several years after. His appearance had never really changed but today he was looking at a different person. He studied the young man in the mirror…

He had large, bright emerald eyes. Arching eyebrows and dark eyelashes that framed them. He had golden skin and high cheekbones, his jaw was more shapely and refined. His face was aesthetic, chiselled and fine. His lips were soft and he had heard many girls describe lips like his as kissable, would boys find them the same? The 'beauty spots' and freckles he had had were gone. His hair was so long now that it reached to his knees. It seemed to be blacker than before but that could be due to the increased thickness of it. When he gathered it all in his hand he couldn't close his fingers around it. It was straight now, with a little bit of a wave in places. No longer unruly due to the weight. But he could still mess it up and when he did it changed his whole look again. When it was like that he looked windswept and wild. It was sleek and almost shone as bright as Krai's scales.

His body was no longer that of an undernourished boy. He now had a physique better than most young men his age. He would never be heavyset or muscled, but he was no longer scrawny and weak looking. His shoulders were quite wide, his chest and waist were subtly thinner, his legs long and lean. His muscles were not large, they were perfect, discernable through cloth but not bulging. He still had only a small amount of hair on his body. He had never shaved and it looked like he never would. His scar was almost always hidden by his hair now, people looked at him but their eyes never tracked to the scar, instead they looked him up and down as though they were examining him. He wasn't too keen on that but at least they weren't looking at his scar.

After they'd bought their new robes and after he'd been talked into buying a new set of dress robes (emerald green like his old ones) they went to the Leaky Cauldron. Where they took a seat in the darkest corner and Harry introduced them both to Krai. Ron was a bit shocked when Harry told him he had a snake as a familiar.  
"But Harry a snakes a slytherin thing?"  
"Oh Ronald grow up, it's a bit obvious that if Harry had a familiar it'd be a snake."

After that he'd let it go and when Krai stared at him for more than five minutes and didn't bite him, he relaxed. He even went so far as to stroke him. But Hermione wouldn't go near him, she was accepting and even addressed the odd remark to Krai but she wouldn't touch him. Harry put it down to the incident with the basilisk and didn't say anything about it. They talked about stupid things after that, things they'd done in the past, what was likely to happen over the coming year and so on. Hermione even lectured them on taking their NEWTs seriously. They just laughed and promised her they would (it was the only way to get her to stop).

After a while, it was time for Hermione to leave. Her parents who had been shopping in muggle London came to pick her up and she left after hugging Ron and giving Harry a quick kiss on the cheek. For some reason he felt a bit awkward when she did that but he shrugged it off. Krai though had been watching all day and he had took more notice of certain things than Harry had. A few things earlier in the day had disturbed him, he hissed quietly to himself, he would allow no harm to come to his Master.

Harry and Ron had another butterbeer from the bar. Ron said he was waiting to see if Fred and George came in. They sometimes closed up at five but usually it was later. When they'd finished their butterbeers and Fred and George still hadn't come in, they picked up their things and flooed to the Burrow.

A/N…as always guys if you've read please review too. Its twice as much fun for me if you do.


	12. Chapter 12

Llama-K'Leysha42, Frequency Queen, Lady K. Malfoy and Lemonjuicy32.

Lemonjuicy32…I will continue to post on this site. Thank you for all your wonderful reviews and don't worry this story is a long one, much longer then I originally thought it would be. Its upto 39 chapters so far and there are a few more to go. Probably end at 50 or just under.

Chapter 11: The Burrow, then Home.

Harry and Krai spent only an hour or so at the Burrow and Harry didn't leave in the best of moods.

When he fell out of the fireplace, he surprised Mrs Weasley so much that she lost control of the spell she was using and the potatoes she'd been pealing instead of landing in the sink like she wanted, rocketed off the walls and pelted both of them and Ron, who had come through the floo after Harry.  
"Bloody hell Mum, what ya doin!" Ron exclaimed after a particularly large potato smacked him in the nose.  
"Sorry dear, Harry startled me is all." She then gave Harry a bright smile. "You look so much better than you did the last time I saw you dear." The next thing he knew she was hugging him. "Oh Harry, we were so worried about you, disappearing like that, not knowing where you were and you not answering your letters. Oh, let me look at you."  
She pushed him back and looked over him critically.  
"Well, you're still thinner than I liked but not as bad as you have been. At least you're getting better meals wherever you are. Your hair dear is really very long, would you like me to cut it for you?" she fingered her wand lovingly just as she had done in fourth year with Bill.  
"Er, no Mrs Weasley I like it as it is, thanks though." She looked a little disappointed but I guess all those years of arguing with Bill had helped her cope with _his_ decision.  
"Well if you ever change your mind Harry, let me know won't you dear?" Once he had assured her that he would, she continued preparing dinner, after all she had to fatten him up while she had him.  
"We'll have to get Arthur to put one of the spare cots in Ron's bedroom for you Harry."  
"Thanks Mrs Weasley but I need to go home, I've got a few things I have to do." At this she looked extremely disappointed, so he quickly told her that he'd visit and he knew a charm that would allow Ron's owl Pigwidgeon to find him, so she could write and make sure he was ok.   
"Now you boys get out of my way, shoo. Go down to the paddock, play some quidditch."

"D'you really have to go back mate?" Ron asked him as soon as they were in the hall.  
"Yeah, sorry Ron. I can't stay."  
"Why mate?" Deciding to be honest with Ron, he pulled him through the back door and into the yard.  
"I can't risk Dumbledore finding me Ron. That's why the Owls can't bring me letters, not because it's warded but because of him. And the easiest way for him to find me is to put a tracking spell on an owl and send me a letter."  
"I thought you liked Dumbledore mate, what 'appened."  
Harry sighed and sat down on a rock by the little pond at the back of the garden. There were no gnomes about, there must have been a recent de-gnoming.   
"Fifth year, after Sirius died, Dumbledore called me to his office…He told me something."  
"What did he tell you Harry?"  
"The reason why my parents died, whose fault it was that Voldemort killed them." At this Ron gasped (he still couldn't hear the dark lords name without doing so) and Krai from his place beneath Harry's coat, hissed at his Master. "It was my fault Ron. They died cos of me."  
Ron just opened and closed his mouth, he didn't know what to do in a situation like this. Krai for his part didn't say anything he just wound slightly tighter around Harry's neck, letting him know he was there. Letting Harry talk would be the best. Hopefully when the angry one realised his friend was crying he'd comfort him. It was hard for a snake to offer comfort to a Master, he had tried with words but his Master needed human arms.  
"There's a prophecy Ron. I know the wording by heart…" And in a monotone voice he recited the words.

_'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…'_

He finished and just stared into space for a moment. Ron who had sat down next to him after he began, slipped his arm around Harry. After a moment he spoke to him.  
"I always knew there was something, you know. Someat he wasn't telling us."  
Harry just nodded for a moment.  
"I never thought he'd keep something like that from me though."  
"No." Next second, Ron had slapped his hands on his knees, stood and faced Harry. "Right, we'll have to get even with him for this won't we Harry."  
Harry smiled and shook his head at Ron's antics.  
"Much as I'd love to Ron, that aint gonna happen."  
"Why mate?"  
"Simplest reason, Dumbledore is the figurehead of the light. We can't even argue with him, or people'll think we've joined the dark side."  
"Yeah, suppose you're right. What ya gonna do then mate?"  
"For now stay away from him. Now that I'm recovered from my transition, I'm gonna work and work hard. I'm sick of being left in the dark and I won't be manipulated any more. Not by Dumbledore or anyone."  
"I wont let that happen to ya mate."  
"Thanks Ron."  
They sat for a moment together, quietly. Ron still had his arm around Harry's shoulders.  
"Listen mate…" he took a deep breath. "I don't know if you still think of this. But I do. You know in fourth year when I was jealous?"  
"Yeh."  
"And we fell out?" Harry nodded. "I'm sorry. I was jealous that things always seem to happen to you. But then when I really thought about the tasks, I knew it wasn't a good thing. I was gonna apologise, it wouldn't have lasted half as long as it did if Hermione hadn't told me what you said. And I gotta tell you Harry, it hurt." Harry who had sat up straighter at this turned and asked…  
"What did I say Ron?"  
"Come on Harry you know what you said, lets just leave it at that and forget about it."  
"No Ron. What is it that I'm meant to have said?"  
"Well if you need to dig it all up again. Hermione told me what you said. How you'd talked about me after I walked off. What you said about my family and all. That was why I was mad at you…"  
"Ron I never said anything like that."  
"Sure you did mate. Listen it doesn't matter anymore. Just ignore it."  
"I won't ignore it Ron, because it did not happen."  
"That's it Harry, I'm trying to be nice and everything but if you can't even admit it then I don't want to talk to you."  
"Ron…"  
"Get out, Harry. Just get out!" Ron shouted, walking off and leaving him in the garden. After a moment he followed.

Mrs Weasley was alone in the kitchen when he got there.  
"Hello Harry dear. What's wrong?" Deciding that the best thing to do would be to leave quickly before she could ask too many questions, he told Mrs Weasley he was needed at home and before she could protest he took some flew powder, whispered the words _'Potter Manor'_ and disappeared.

They landed in the entrance hall surrounded by soot. The force of Harry's impact with the floor jarred Krai loose. Harry didn't even realise Krai had fallen before he took off up the stairs.  
The next second a tiny little house elf named Lynny appeared next to Krai with a little dust pan and brush and a feather duster.  
"Master Krai, Lynny has something for you. Took it from Hedwig sir, just as you ordered sir."  
Krai smiled a snakish smile and using Harry's magic vanished the letter. Right now he had to comfort his Master. He nodded to the elf and slithered slowly up the staircase.  
_Things are definitely getting interesting._ he thought. _Hhhmmm, the angry one wont believe Master unless Master has proof. I will have to think of something._

A/N…There you go guys another chapter.

As always if you've read, please review too.

A/N…If you're wondering how Krai talked to Lynny when she obviously doesn't speak parseltongue. The answer is he wrote it down when he did the letter and showed her. 

Also if your wondering how Draco's letter got through the wards its quite simple:  
1 Hedwig brought it through, she's the only owl Harry lets in and he puts a different glamour on her everytime she goes out (even to hunt).

2 Krai is considered a Master of the house due to the familiar bond, so that means if Malfoy uses his own owl Krai will allow it to pass the wards.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys, hope everyone had a brilliant Christmas and has an even better New Year.

Thanks go to Lemonjuicy32 for her wonderful reviews.

Chapter 12: A Reply

Harry slept in late the next morning, having had trouble sleeping the night before. Falling out with one of your friends is bound to make you a little bit restless, but add to that another friend whose intentions you were no longer sure of, well, lets just say he hadn't got to sleep till the very early hours. While he was sleeping in, Krai took out the letter from the Malfoy boy and read it over…

_Dear Aidan_

I was surprised to hear from you, I didn't think I would. Yes, that man was my father and no he wasn't mad, he's always like that in public. At home he's much worse. I'm not used to talking to people either. Its difficult when you cant be honest.

I have two friends and a house of followers. Do you have any friends? You never mentioned them in your letter. I was curious, if you don't want to answer that I understand, some things are better not said. Or known. By anyone. I think my fathers ashamed of me too. He has expectations, all fathers have expectations, right? Sometimes he doesn't even look at me, he looks past me. It's like I'm not there. And I don't like that feeling. He lists my faults too.

He gives me orders. Does your father give you orders as well? Sometimes its simple things like: 'never let the mask slip, concentrate on schoolwork, let Crabbe and Goyle follow you around.' 

But sometimes its harder, things like 'make friends with Potter, bring him to our side,' things like that are much more difficult. They make me realise that I am more my father, or maybe my fathers puppet than I am myself. Is that wrong or is it the duty of every pureblood to aspire to be like their sire?

You did stand out in Knockturn Alley, I wouldn't recommend going back in. It is too easy to get trapped there. You did bother me and it did change, I wouldn't be writing back if I felt otherwise, I would have sent you a curse through the post.

Draco

P.S. I'm sorry but when you finish reading this it will be set alight. I can't take any chances. Only you will be able to read these letters safely. I ask that you do the same thing with your letters. The spell is written below. Swish and flick like with wingardium leviosa.

He read over the spell and smiled, it was a strong one. The moment he finished the parchment ignited and all that was left was ash and a scrap of paper with the spell words written on it.

Well it seemed there was hope for the young Malfoy yet, he was smart and cunning like any slytherin and had a strong sense of self-preservation which would help balance out his own Master's more Gryffindorish tendencies. He carefully thought over his reply before writing back…

_Draco_

Don't worry, I've cast the spell on the letter, only you can read it, so don't worry. I know what it feels like to get ordered around. The expectations though are worse. I resent being ordered around by my Father and almost hate him for it. But when he looks at me and shakes his head because I haven't lived up to his expectations, I feel guilty. Like I should be doing everything I can to earn his respect, his admiration, his love. But it never comes. Sometimes I think that if I just give up and do as he says my life will be better and it probably would be, but it wouldn't be my life would it, it'd be his.

Yes I do have friends, but they don't live here. I have no one here bar you. So you can imagine how happy I was to get your letter. Even if I did have friends here, my father probably wouldn't allow me to see them. Does your father control your life as much as my own controls mine?

Aidan

He sent Hedwig off with the letter, he knew the Malfoy boy would use his own owl this time and he needed Hedwig back as soon as possible. He had an idea that might help his Master. He penned a quick note before leaving to find Lynny.

When Harry awoke later, there was a bulky white object on the coffee table next to his breakfast. Dressing quickly he went to examine it and found that it was something he recognised. Knowing what it was for he smiled. Krai always seemed to know what he needed. He couldn't imagine not having the snake around.  
**Thanks** he hissed to the room at large.  
**You are welcome Massster. But I would ssssuggesst usssing it later. The owl hasss gone out hunting and will not be back for sssome time**

Secretly Harry didn't believe that, with all the time Hedwig seemed to spend away, he was sure that his owl had found a mate in the nearby forest. He settled down to eat his breakfast. Krai came up to him and curled into him, seeking his warmth.  
**What are we doing today familiar mine  
Now that we have ssseen the ssstrength at your command Massster, it iss important to harnesss it, control it. It mussst only esscape you when you want it to**

Harry was once again in the training room and just like the last time he was flat on his back. But this time he hadn't been knocked on his ass by his magic, no this time he had knocked his magic on its ass and he was exhausted. Krai had drilled him and drilled him, over and over again on exercises to control his power. To hold it back with his will when he opened the door. He'd struggled more than he cared to admit. But Krai had told him, that now that he had done it once it would only get easier. Magic recognised dominance and as long as he continued to exert his will it would eventually submit to him. He'd never had to do this before. He knew it was because a wizard/witch could naturally control their initial power levels but had trouble controlling their after transition magics. There was nothing wrong with it. It happened to everyone but he seemed to have more magic than most.

He wasn't worried. He had Krai!


	14. Chapter 14

Big thank you to Makurayami Ookami for reviewing every chapter and making me post this one now. Thank you for all those positive comments (grins).

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed.

Christinaxinxing

dead feather…Unfortunately I needed to establish some stuff in these chapters, n having other people around just seemed a waste of time. But the next chapter is on the Hogwarts Express so hopefully that'll be better.

Raezliana…Thanks, hope you had a good weekend too.

Kid Leo

semper paratis

FrequencyQueen…Nope Krai's always been male. Maybe I made it seem that way, but it wasn't intentional, I'll go check.

Chapter 13: Time to end it…

When Harry thought about everything that had happened to him since his birthday, just under a month ago now, he couldn't believe how much he'd changed and how much he'd learnt. Tomorrow he would be going to Hogwarts for his seventh year, part of him was looking forward to it but the rest of him wasn't. Hogwarts had been his home for six years and it still was in some ways, but Potter manor was his and he couldn't imagine leaving it. Even if Krai was going with him. Privately, he knew the reason he didn't want to go back was because he didn't know how people would react to him anymore. He was just glad he still had Ron. He hadn't thought he'd even have that but when Krai had found the pensieve for him, he knew Ron would realize what was going on. Then again even Harry didn't know what was really going on. He had his suspicions but that was all.

Harry and Ron had made up, although it had taken Harry a while to convince Ron that Harry still wanted to be his friend. They'd both decided that they wouldn't act any different with Hermione until they found out what was going on. He'd stayed at the Burrow for a few days, after that and something strange had happened. He and Ron had always been friends, good friends but on those days at the Burrow, it was as if something was missing. Something inhibiting. Their friendship became even stronger and all they could put it down to was the fact that Hermione wasn't there. Which was strange. Whatever was going on he didn't think it was Hermione's fault. He couldn't imagine her doing anything to hurt him or anyone else for that matter.

He spent his days at the Burrow just having fun and he felt he deserved it after finally getting control of his magic. He and Krai had a few days off before returning to their studies. The depth of the snakes knowledge astounded Harry, he didn't understand how Krai knew what he did. He'd learnt more in his time with Krai than he ever had at Hogwarts, with the exception of Remus's DADA lessons.

He'd noticed strange things about himself over the last week or so as well. He knew he was changing. His skin itched like crazy all over, particularly his back and shoulder blades. His ears were red from constantly rubbing them. His vision had become even clearer than it had before, he could see each individual strand of his hair in a mirror at the other side of the room. His hearing was sharper, he could hear Manny and Lynny whenever they came into his room and because of that and the noises of the wind and rain, he now slept with silencing charms around his bed. He had grown quite adept at them, and almost any other spell or charm, he could even do them wandlessly. He kept that fact hidden from all bar Krai, he knew an advantage when he found one.

On a bad note his sense of taste had improved also, he couldn't drink anything from a plastic bottle anymore, the taste was revolting. However things from a can were delicious, the metallic tang was addicting, it kinda reminded him of something, but for the moment the taste eluded him. His canines had lengthened slightly, not to the length of a vampire's fang. They were only slightly longer, barely noticeable to anyone other than himself, he'd cut his tongue more than once on them, until the flesh of the organ had thickened to take it. The worst thing was that the taste of blood in his mouth was appetizing. And he often went straight to the kitchens for increasingly rare steaks afterwards.

He knew though with certainty that he wasn't a vampire (he read the 'Maturity' book to make sure), his heart was still beating, he hadn't bitten anybody, he could go out in daylight and he didn't have an aversion to garlic. He knew that last one was a debated point, but still he was thank full, he loved garlic.

He was getting used to all this though, slowly but surely. He accepted that he wouldn't be the person he was if he didn't have his creature blood. He wouldn't have been the person he was in the past either, without that blood.

And as well as the better vision, taste and hearing, he could move much faster and more gracefully than anyone he knew, except perhaps Snape. He'd noticed that last year, the man covered it with his trademark stalk but he did have a natural grace that Harry was now recognising in himself. He wondered if Snape had any blood. Krai wasn't much help at walking, which was great because he'd finally found a limit to the snakes wisdom.

Then again the snake couldn't be blamed, the concept of legs was completely foreign to the him, he didn't understand it at all. Over the last fortnight or so, he'd learned how to pace himself, to walk slowly. To everyone else it would seem like a normal pace but to him it was ridiculously slow.

He'd noticed as well an increased flexibility. This was fairly recent. He'd have noticed it before. Few people could reach down and touch their toes without bending their knees, he could do that with ease, he could also bend his body completely in half. If he was sitting with his legs stretched out, he could lay his chest and head flat against his legs. He could bend backwards almost as far and when he'd found this out, Krai had insisted that he enrol at a gymnastics class at the local village. His bones were almost liquid like and he could squeeze through small spaces with ease, like a cat. He moved almost as quiet as a cat now. The gymnastics class gave him more practice at blending in with humans.

And he'd finally noticed something strange about his hair, well Krai had actually pointed it out to him. He never brushed it, it never tangled, if it was blown by the wind it did so in tendrils, like whipping snakes, it never knotted when he went swimming (which he was pretty good at now, after all he did have a sea snake as a teacher) and it never caught or got snagged in any of the elaborately carved furnishings in the manor. It was strange.

None of the changes had included his scar, it was still there, annoyingly clear and in view.

Overall he was happy with the changes, but he couldn't figure out what he was. Krai had told him that traits from both of his 'bloods' had appeared and that the senses in particular would just get stronger. Part of his future training would be to nullify the effects when he didn't need them, according to Krai he'd soon be able to hear a conversation at the other end of the village and tell you who it was, whether they were angry or not and whether or not they shuffled their feet or moved their hands when they talked. No he couldn't figure out what he was, the creatures listed in the books didn't sound like him, but how much of him was one bloodline and how much was the other, he'd never really know until Krai told him.

There were more changes Krai told him, very important ones (the messy ones are always last) and they don't occur until the senses and the body are adapted enough to take them. Apparently it would take longer with him, because of all the years of neglect, even though he'd essentially been healed and had become the person he was meant to be, his soul and his inborn magic, apparently, were still getting used to that which made the changes go slow.

Krai guessed that he'd be ready for the last changes around Christmas time. Hopefully it'd occur in the holidays, there wouldn't be too many people around then. He wanted to come back to the manor for Christmas but he didn't think he'd be able to, somehow Dumbledore would find a reason to keep him there. At least this time he'd have Krai with him. Dumbledore couldn't do anything about that, could he?

Now he came to think about it, was he allowed to take Krai with him, he remembered his first year letter, owls, cats and toads were fine, no snakes, not even a dog was mentioned, only the first three.

Dumbledore would use that to take Krai away from him, he was sure of it. But Harry wouldn't let him, he'd already vowed that Dumbledore wouldn't control him anymore and there was no way he'd let Dumbledore take away his familiar, the one who was helping him become the person he wanted to be. Krai's teaching and guidance was helping him do what would have took him years to do on his own and he wouldn't let Dumbldore put a spanner in the works.

He'd learnt some pretty intense secrecy glamours the other week, glamours to mask Krai's appearance, his smell, his voice and his presence from anyone searching for it. He could hide Krai in plain site, some people he would allow to see Krai, people he trusted, Ron, Blaise, Remus, the Twins, Snape (yes Snape, the git never lied) and Hermione, he had to let her see him, something was going on with her but to hide Krai's presence when she already knew about him would create more problems.

If Hermione was spying on him for Dumbledore, then he'd already know about Krai. But he couldn't see her doing that willingly, she wouldn't spy on him he knew that. Not willingly. But would Dumbledore dare coerce her, had he threatened her, cast a spell? He didn't know, but he'd find out, he didn't trust Dumbledore as far as he could throw him. And for that reason he couldn't trust McGonagall either, or Moody. He felt like he could trust Tonks, but he couldn't tell her anything. Dumbledore was an accomplished legilimens and he wouldn't put it past the old sod to read her mind. Snape was strong enough to keep both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore out of his mind. Remus was the same but that was due to his furry little problem more than anything.

He was thinking about trying an experiment with Remus, since a werewolf was only dangerous to a human, he wondered if his creature blood would protect him. That way he could keep Remus company and be able to talk to him in words he could understand. When he completed his animagus training he'd be able to keep his godfather company every full moon, but that'd take a little while longer.

At the moment he was in the midst of preparations to find out his form, he'd have to retreat to the room of requirement one weekend, the ritual was quite a long one. He'd have to get someone to cover for him.

There seemed to have been a lot more work done to refine animagus training since his father's day. It wouldn't take him even half as long as it did them, but apparently this process was more taxing on the body to make up for the reduction in length. After all they had to find some way to keep the animagi trainees monitored, if it wasn't dangerous they had no reason to kick up such a fuss. He didn't know what he was, but he didn't think he was small, when he thought about being a small animal it just didn't fit, but when he thought about a large animal, it felt right. He couldn't wait to find out what he was.

There was only one reason why he wanted to go back to Hogwarts and that was Draco.

Over the last few weeks he'd thought of the blond more and more. He'd slowly began to call him Draco in his mind, but the moment the blond started acting like the pompous aristocrat of old he'd be Malfoy again. He wanted to go back to Hogwarts and see if the Draco he'd met at Knockturn Alley had been a fluke. He couldn't help but think that he'd seen the real Draco that day. And god help him he wanted to see more of him.

Krai had been thinking about the Malfoy boy as well, but for entirely different reasons. He'd wrote to the Malfoy boy for almost a month, he'd slowly chipped away at the pureblood façade, the ingrained desire to please the sire and the dislike of other bloods. He'd got the boy to admit that he'd never had anything against the muggleborns and half bloods and had been spouting the beliefs of his father. He'd done what he needed to do and the character of Aidan had outlived its usefulness. But he hadn't been able to end the correspondence until his Master provided him with a reason.

Several days ago they'd both been at the Weasleys for the night and somehow one of Harry's dreams had become a vision. Not a vision induced by Voldemort, no Harry's mind was locked up tight against him, the other snake lord would not be able to gain access to it again. _He_ had made sure of that. Even more disturbing was that Harry's vision had shown the destruction of Beauxbatons academy. The moment Harry had told him, he had used it to his advantage.

He penned his latest note to the Malfoy boy and at the end wrote that he was going to Beauxbatons early for the start of the year. He had never told the boy more than he needed to know about the character of Aidan, the less the boy knew the harder it would be for Krai to slip up. He had then sent Hedwig on her way with the letter, but had used his Masters magic to make it an express trip. Draco had got the letter later that day and had immediately attempted to send another letter. The letter and owl were disallowed entrance to the manor and the owl returned home with his letter undelivered. The boy had attempted to send several more, but for the last couple of days the boy hadn't attempted to send another.

It was the best ending he could hope for, added resentment aimed at the Dark one for killing a friend and hopefully the will to do what his friend had urged and begin the separation from his father.


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Bloodied Maiden

zafaran

vis pour hp

Makurayami Ookami

Norwegian Moonflower

Silvermane1

fraewyn

amber v

FrequencyQueen

christinaxinxing

Chapter 14: The Hogwarts Express

The following morning Harry awoke bright and early with Krai lying curled on his stomach, his tongue flicking in and out while he slept. It was early, too early to be up. He looked around to see if one of the elves had popped in and left something, but nothing came to his mind as he perused the room. He put it out of his mind and drifted back to sleep, but it would be something that would remain in the back of his mind all day, along with the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was almost like he was waiting for something. A bit like apprehension, no… anticipation, _that was it_.

When he awoke later to Krai's gentle hissing in his ear, he put the feeling out of his mind and finished packing his trunk. Without the Weasley's scurrying around and forgetting their things he managed to get to the station at half ten, which gave him plenty of time to find a compartment. It was strange but he found himself looking for someone as he wound himself around the platform. He ignored the whispers that followed him and the cats that wound around his legs. He was keeping his eyes open for Malfoy, for once in his life he wanted to see the git.

Draco hadn't felt this queasy since his first train ride. He'd hid it from his father then, just as he hid it from his mother now. His father had got out of Azkaban on a technicality and was now having to repair his 'public image', since then his mother had taken over running his life. But she wasn't as subtle as father. But she wasn't as subtle as father. She had less interest in him, than in her social standing. He knew why that was of course. He was his father's heir, but to his mother, he was the child she birthed to fulfil her obligation under the marriage contract.

There was nothing in the contract that said she had to take an interest in her offspring. But mother dearest wasn't dumb either, she knew if daddies little DE in training went to pot, she'd be blamed and her bank card would be tossed out of the window. He couldn't bring himself to care about his mother though, he had something more important to worry about. School! 

Draco Malfoy had changed and he didn't like to admit it. But he had to really. He'd learnt something over the summer and it hadn't cost him anything to learn it (unlike most of the other lessons learnt in his life), no money, none of his blood, only silent tears shed in the privacy of his chambers.

Something had snapped in Draco that day, the letter had hit him hard but he didn't let it show. He hadn't spent all these years erecting a mask to lose it when he needed it the most. Draco was grieving, actually grieving, he couldn't believe it. It wasn't something a Malfoy did. But did he want to be a Malfoy? There it went again, his thoughts running away too fast and ending up in areas he couldn't bring himself to contemplate yet. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to think about those things.

He'd done some re-evaluating over the summer since he'd met Aidan. The boy had got him thinking that first day in Knockturn Alley. He didn't really know what about him had caught his attention, he was average looking, totally unmemorable, not particularly powerful, smart or witty and he definitely wasn't someone a Pureblooded Malfoy heir should associate with. Privately, maybe more subconsciously, he knew that the reason he had almost latched onto the boy as his own personal lifeline, was because for a moment, he'd sounded like Potter. And that thought was too alien for Draco to think about at the moment, so odd it just didn't enter his mind. Much anyway.

Writing to Aidan had loosed a knot on the noose he didn't know was around his throat. He'd never even noticed it before. Not when his father had pushed him to ride his first broom, not when his father had hit him when he fell off and cried. And he definitely hadn't felt it closing around him when his father, guilted him into believing that the whole thing was his fault and that three year olds were perfectly capable of riding adult brooms. No, he'd never noticed the noose, but now that he knew it was there he wanted nothing more to cut it, or at least loosen it before the sudden drop he knew was coming. 

You see he knew that this was it. This was the year. His Mother was in the Dark Lord's bed, while his father screamed in Azkaban (he couldn't help smiling at that) and because of that, he knew that the Dark Lord was going to try and end it all this year. He didn't know when the attack would come, he knew where though…Hogwarts. And he expected Draco to join him on the front line, with all his Slytherin year mates lined up in front of him as Voldemorts own personal shield wall.

Draco didn't want that to happen, he didn't want to die, wasn't ready for it in the slightest. But he knew he'd either have to be ready by the end of the year or not, the bastard was so bloody predictable, he'd attack at the end of the year, like he had done every time before.

But even if the prospect of death hadn't been enough to turn him away from Voldermorts path (which it wasn't because he could just as easily die for the light), the fact that Voldemort liked Malfoys in his bed was. His grandfather had been first and when he'd become too old for Voldemorts tastes, his son, Draco's father had taken his old mans place and with Lucius away his wife would play. Draco had no intention of joining up as well.

His mother took great pleasure in the fact that she was so favoured and that he would follow her, she often told him of her and times together, the pain mixed with the pleasure. And he knew she was looking forward to seeing him there instead of herself, even his mother didn't want to stay in that bed. And that was where she seemed to spend most of her time, never mind the man or woman she was with. As long as she gained something from it, that was fine. That was why she had married Lucius in the first place, for status, and to cultivate the Dark Lords taste for lithe blondes. Draco shuddered, he wouldn't live with that. He couldn't.

Those thoughts had already been going through his mind when Aidan had shown up. On that first day he'd felt like he could even love Aidan, but in the letters he felt nothing more than a camaraderie and shared pain. Aidan was a friend, nothing more and Draco had dismissed that first day feeling as pure fancy. When he'd received that first letter though, his heart had been in his throat, he didn't know what to expect. He'd opened that letter slower than any other. And when he'd read it, he'd been thankful that those words made him think of nothing but friendship. The prospect of loving someone was as alien to the young Malfoy as defying his father's wishes. Malfoy's don't love.

After that first reply the words had been formed easily by Draco's quill, he wrote as smooth and as quick as he ever had when corresponding with his family while away. Which left him in no doubt that he meant the words. The writing had changed him. He'd re-evaluated his life and so far had found nothing he was proud of. Apart from getting on the Slytherin team, but that had been short-lived when he had realised that his Father had bought _his_ way onto the team, just like the mud…granger had said. That word, the 'm' word was still a reflex he was struggling to avoid.

He then went onto what he wanted from life and none of it was what a Malfoy should want. He wanted a lover…maybe a husband, not a wife (he'd figured that out too) and a child, hell he wanted a lot of children. Why were all purebloods restricted to only having one child anyway? What did he want to be when he left school, a deatheater? Voldemorts whore? Hell no! Did he want to be an auror, fight the dark? Not really. Where did that leave him? Stuck in limbo that's where, but it was better than being the Dark Lord's whore/errand boy.

After figuring all that out and realising if it wasn't for Voldemort and the war, he'd probably be quite a normal teenager, one who either knew what he wanted to do or didn't, but would figure it out eventually. It was possible however to be on the light side and fight in the war and maybe if they won…when they won (they had Potter) he could teach flying at Hogwarts. Now that was almost a dream. A dream he'd never dared voice.

When he was young and Voldemort wasn't around, he'd been groomed for an un-official position in the ministry like his father. He definitely didn't want that. He wanted the wind in his face. He did entertain the possibility of being a professional quidditch player, but very few people actually made it. He was more realistic than that. And he didn't believe for one moment that if he did fight, he'd come out of the war fit enough to survive a match. He knew what the deatheaters could do, after all he'd been trained to be one.

He was straying…the point was Aidan had helped all those thoughts out of his head and now he was gone. Killed by that ugly, snakelike bastard in that stupid raid on Beauxbatons.

Draco could just imagine it, he'd been there once. The walls of the small castle blown apart, the bodies on the floor, the broken wands of the crest. Just like if Hogwarts was destroyed, the crest would split apart and the animals would die bloody deaths and soak the fabric the black of old blood 'till nothing remained. The castle would fall to ruins, just as it appeared to any muggle who strayed too close. He didn't want to think of Aidan there, wondering whether or not the boy's father had gone for his body, whether there was a body or whether it had been burned in the mass pyre, one of those faceless and now nameless individuals.

Aidan had given him something with his death though, the need to not end up like him. Dead, never having broken away from his father and the life he didn't want to lead. He didn't want to end up like that and he was damned if he would. He would change his life and he would go about it in his own way.

The first thing was to sound out the other Slytherins and see if anyone intended to join him. He could do it discreetly enough and he'd obliviate anyone he wasn't sure of. He could count on Blaise, he knew that. Maybe Pansy. Crabbe and Goyle were too dumb to make a decision themselves, they'd follow him but they'd also tell their fathers every damn word he said. He'd have to tread carefully with those two. But tread he will. He had to. They were as trapped as he was.

Time passed quite quickly for Harry. His friends were around him, joking and laughing at things they'd done over the summer. For once Harry didn't feel left out, he found that he had some things to tell them this year. Whereas before, every fun thing he had done had been with the people around him now. But this year he could tell them what he had done without them knowing it all already.

He told them how he had spent time learning to swim, running around the grounds, exploring his home, he told them about his muggle shopping trip and his suspicions of Hedwig finding a boyfriend, well mate, and disappearing for days on end. He noticed his owl looked a bit sheepish at this, if it was possible for an owl to look sheepish that is. He smirked at her, she just gave him one of those sideways looks and promptly turned around on her perch to face the wall.

It was a bit later when Harry found himself needing the bathroom, he left the compartment and headed in the necessary direction, lost in his thoughts. He didn't realise that heads were turning and that people were opening their compartment doors and staring after him as he passed. He didn't notice this, instead he was thinking of something that was puzzling him.

He hadn't seen Draco that morning, he was usually about on the platform somewhere, his goons in tow. And for once Harry had been early, he hadn't arrived with only a few minutes to spare like he had in first year, or every year thereafter when he waited while the Weasleys got organised. He'd expected to see him there. Add to that the fact that it was almost fully dark now, the train would be arriving within the next half hour and Malfoy and his goons hadn't come looking for him. It seemed another train tradition had been broken.

Krai had slipped out of the compartment after his master. He wanted to see if Harry spoke to anyone, observing a short conversation between his master and another, would tell him more about his masters feelings for that person, than what his master told him. He saw all the heads turn and the compartment doors open. In fact he had to slither almost under Harry's feet a few time to avoid eager girls with spiky heeled shoes from stepping on him. He was a familiar, he wasn't indestructible.

He met no one on the way to the bathroom, which he was quite thankful for. The platform had been enough of a drain.

He locked the cubicle door, took care of business, washed his hands in the lone little sink that had to serve three different cubicles and was just about to leave when the door opened so fast he was sure someone had kicked it and a body smashed into him. They fell to the ground and Harry, after shaking his dazed head a bit found that he liked the position he was in. The others head was on his chest, one arm was trapped between them and the other seemed to rest lightly on his shoulder. The man's (for man it had to be they were in the boys toilets after all) right leg was between his own pressed against a slightly 'interested' area and his other was bent at the knee. Only the harsh breathing of the one on top of him revealed the position was 'accidental'. Although the slight bulge in the other man's trousers could tell a different story.

'You know, as comfortable as I think your chest is Potter, do you think you could let go of me so that I could get off this floor.' Hearing the drawling voice of Draco Malfoy, Harry was almost so happy he did not want to let him go. He realised then that he was clutching the blondes hair with one hand and the other was clutching his shirt, Draco couldn't move without leaving some of his hair between Harry's fingers. Harry loosed his vice grip almost reluctantly (so not gonna think about that yet) and Draco slowly got up to his hands and knees. Unfortunately for Harry, Draco's knee rubbed Harry's erection in the process, causing him to gasp.

Draco's eyes shot to _his_ startled for a moment, before a slow smile, one he'd never seen before graced his lips.  
'So… you like that Potter?' Pressing his knee forward slightly. Harry had to bite his lip from moaning. Malfoy smirked at that, looking very proud. But somehow this smirk didn't make Harry want to punch him in the face, instead he was sure that if he'd been standing his legs would've gone weak. After a moment where they just stared Draco moved.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Now aren't I evil for ending there, hhhhmmmm? Gotta do it, sorry. You'll have to wait until next chapter to find out what happens next.

Please if you've read, review.

P.S. I know I'm gonna be ducking a few metaphorical bats when you all read this, but I've finally given you a bit of H/D so be nice n remember that when you swing.


	16. Chapter 16

Wow I cant believe how short my old chapters used to be. This ones only three pages and the ones I'm churning out now are almost always twenty pages long. Oh well I cant change it right now. So as a promise I'll post another chapter later this week.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed…

wolf-with-snake-eyes

ChaosLovesMe00

Katsy17

Hopeful Artimas

DragonFoxx

Yaoianimefan….Sorry but in this fic Harry is the dominant. Personally I'm not fussed either way but the plot of this one called for a dominant Harry.

Blue-Eyed-Snape

Bloodied Maiden

Silvermane1

Norwegian Moonflower

Makurayami Ookami

amber v

Again guys sorry for the bad ending last time, when I started this fic, well over a year and half ago now I had trouble continuing that chapter. I think inspiration left me there and I just couldn't continue beyond that point. Sorry again, completely understand the name calling and bat swinging.

Chapter 15: A Comforting Hand

Draco pushed back onto his heels, making sure to brush the little bit of skin that Harry's t-shirt had exposed to his eyes. He stood and dusted off his trousers. Harry who was still lying on the floor, was just staring up at him.  
'I have that effect on people don't I?' Draco asked. 'Do you know Potter you haven't said a word since I barrelled into you. Usually you'd be shoving me off and yelling about how I should watch where I'm going.' His look turned speculative. 'What's changed?'   
Harry was still staring, he was a little shocked. He felt like he was dreaming. This all seemed so surreal, like he'd wake up at any moment.

He cleared his throat, Draco was still watching him.  
'I'm not the only one who's changed…Malfoy.' He'd almost slipped up and called him Draco. 'It wasn't so long ago that you'd have jumped up, probably pointed your wand at me and said it was all my fault! You've changed, why?'  
'It isn't polite to answer a question with another question Potter.' He smirked. 'Didn't they teach you any manners? Yes I have changed, I seem to have changed as much on the inside as you have on the outside. You look good.' And with that he turned and left. Harry was still on the floor.

Krai had watched them. Using some of Harry's magic he'd concealed himself and settled down to watch. He smiled, maybe things would be easier than he thought. But then the Malfoy boy left. And Krai knew this was _his_ way of running away, a calm, casual retreat. Leaving his Master still on the floor he went after the Malfoy boy.

Using magic he snuck beneath the compartment door (even with that it was a tight fit) and casting a varied form of legilimens (to read thoughts not invade) listened to the boys fears. And then he knew exactly what to do.

He'd had to get away. Seeing Harry there like that and feeling him almost spread beneath him…he shivered. He'd almost lost control. He couldn't do that. He couldn't go and feel something for Potter, things were complicated enough as it was. He'd fled, he'd left like a Malfoy, with the last word and a casual stride, he'd still run away. He'd locked himself in the first empty compartment he found, cast a few privacy charms, sat on the floor and placed his head in his hands. He seemed to be losing control of his emotions a lot lately, first with Aidan and now…with Harry. He felt a little guilty pleasure calling him by his name. He hugged his body with his arms, weren't things bad enough without this.

He was startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder

Harry had finally gotten up off the floor and had returned to his compartment. To say he was thinking about what had just gone on was obvious. He didn't know what would happen now, was Malfoy even now telling his friends that he'd rendered the 'great Harry Potter' speechless. Or what.

He wasn't sure, all he did know was that Draco's voice hadn't been cold. He'd always described it as the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy (although he admitted he gave the same label to Lucius as well), but there'd been no coldness in the bathroom. His voice had been warm and had gone straight to his groin, just like Draco's knee. He shivered at the thought. He had a few things to think about. Like how he should react to Draco when he saw him again, whether he was gay or whether it was just Draco that got him so hot and bothered, if he hadn't been in a bathroom in a crowded train he'd probably have took care of his problem, instead he'd had to think of some pretty off putting thoughts, or he'd have never been able to walk back to his compartment.

His friends for some reason thought something had happened to him. Well something had but he wasn't going to tell them that. Maybe it was the fact that he'd been gone more than ten minutes and his black clothes were covered in dust, a lot of which was on his back where he hadn't been able to brush it off. Although his hair hadn't even got mussed.

He looked up and saw himself.

And that was probably the first time Draco Malfoy gave the impression of a fish out of water. The figure before him looked exactly like him, down to the clothes he wore.  
'Do not be so surprised Draco, I mean you no harm. After all your wishes are my own.'  
'Who are you?'  
'I am you. A representation of your unconscious mind if you will.'  
'Why are you here?' He asked suddenly wary.  
'I am here to speak with you. The decisions you make affect me also and I am glad that finally we agree. You have always wanted to defy them, but it has took you so long to realise it. And now this new situation…'  
'Don't talk about that…please?' Draco pleaded  
'If we don't talk, we don't understand. The death of that boy hurt you, he was a friend. Someone to count on and now you feel there is no one left to speak to, no one to confide in. Harry would listen to you. He would have befriended you in first year if things had been different. We always seek him out. We need him, How do you feel when you think that at the end of this year you wont see him again?'  
'I panic.'  
'And why?' The pause was long and the words when they came were barely spoken.

'Because he's important to me.'  
'Our life for the last six years has revolved around him and we can't imagine him gone. If you can miss him when you fight, think how much you'd miss him if things go on as they are. If you be the person you want to be, that person does not want to be mean to Harry and you can't pretend to be mean, just to keep yourself from hurting. You wouldn't be the person you want to be then would you?'

That wasn't really a question to answer, it was rhetorical. They both already knew the answer.  
'Can I just see where this leads. Can I just be me for a while and worry if this develops. I think we could be friends. I want to be friends and thinking about him kissing me, touching me,' he shivered 'we wouldn't be friends cos I wouldn't be thinking of him as a friend.'  
'I think that is wise, self of mine. Whatever decision you make I must abide. I am compulsion and instinct, you supply reason. Reason it out, you will know when the time comes.'  
And with that Draco was alone, sat on the floor. He seemed to be spending a lot of his time there today.

So preoccupied was he that he never saw the snake slither beneath the door.

A/N…

Hey guys, know its short and it probably wasn't what you all wanted to happen but cant be helped.

This chappie was difficult to write, the bit with Draco's Krai induced conscience was what gave me the whole idea for this fic. The words that were said back then in my mind were much better and it was longer but I cant for the life of me recreate it exactly. It was late, just before I was going to sleep and I didn't have any paper. But I like it this way, so I'm not gonna stress over it.

And when writing it I thought that if that bit had been longer it wouldn't have been as good, would have felt like I was pushing it. Wouldn't have had as much impact. So anyway, as always…

If you've read, please review


	17. Chapter 17

Makurayami Ookami...lol Krai is very sneaky.

Katsy17

Silvermane1

Lady K. Malfoy...yeah, Krai was using Harry's magic to create the image of Draco's unconscious self. Familiars have access to their bondeds magic so that they can help guide them.

Norwegian Moonflower...lol thankyou i had a good giggle over your review. This story definitely wont be all romance in fact i think there is more plot than romance but thats the way i like it. This ones definitely a plot story more than a romance one. Hope a like.

Blue-Eyed-Snape

Foy...thanks im glad you like Krai. And dont worry the Hermione thing was definitely intentional, you'll learn more about that in later chapters.

000

Chapter 16: The Sorting Hat

Harry felt the carriage shaking as it trundled up the Hogwarts drive, pulled by invisible horses that were no longer invisible, to him. He wished he couldn't see them, no one would have died. But if he was honest he was getting used to the presence of the thestrals. They seemed to like him a lot, it was almost comforting. The one pulling their carriage had rubbed its nose against him, making him smile, he'd felt it was only fair to stroke him in response. For some strange reason he was wishing he had a lump of sugar.

To Ron, Hermione and Ginny he still appeared to be stroking thin air. They luckily had not yet seen anyone die. Neville on the other hand had looked at him like he had just grown an extra head.

When they stepped into the entrance hall they noticed Peeves the poltergeist above their heads, unlike the other year he didn't have water balloons, no this year he had a full suit of armour. The trio, Ginny and Neville ducked quickly into the great hall, but some second year Hufflepuffs weren't so lucky. They'd just managed to get through the door when McGonagall whipped past them. They made their way quickly to the Gryffindor table but they could still hear Peeves cackling, students screaming and McGonagall actually trying to hex the poltergeist.

All of a sudden the scream of a terrified cat was heard and the next thing they knew the caretakers cat Mrs Norris was motoring through the Great Hall, beneath the tables with a cackling Peeves following. The students all broke into laughter of course and many of them stuck their legs out, trying to slow Mrs Norris down.

Dumbledore had to send off purple fireworks again just to calm everybody down and Peeves took one look at the headmaster before deciding he needed to go. A moment later Nearly Headless Nick came and sat next to Harry. It seemed Peeves was still upset because he still couldn't attend the feast.

Harry hadn't missed all the glances sent his way and the whispered conversations when he'd first entered the hall, he hadn't been surprised, at least this time it was something good this time. It was still annoying, he'd never feel comfortable with attention. But no matter what he did he drew attention to himself. And now he was finding that it didn't surprise him anymore, if he got used to it he could ignore it.

One strange thing was that Ron didn't seem to be jealous of all the extra attention Harry was receiving, even the Slytherins kept glancing his way. Although Draco seemed to be resolutely avoiding eye contact. Ron was in fact constantly teasing him about the attention, that he could get any girl he wanted. But it seemed the only one he wanted wasn't interested. _Again thoughts moving a little too fast there!_

The sorting when it happened was unremarkable, the hat stuck with the same theme for its song as last year, stand together and trust in each other. No what was remarkable about this night was that after that last name had been called and McGonagall was about to remove the hat, the hat called out…

'Harry Potter, may I have a word?'

Everyone had turned to look at him then. He'd just sat there for a moment before Dumbledore's quiet…'Mr Potter' had roused him enough to start moving. The walk up the aisle between the two tables took longer than it ever had before. He stepped up onto the dais, his footsteps echoing in the silent hall. Snape scowled at him, but Remus gave him an encouraging smile.

He picked up the hat, sat on the stool and placed it on his head.

000

Draco was watching Harry from the Slytherin table, then again every single person in the hall was watching Harry, this time for a different reason than they had earlier. But whatever the reason, he still felt jealous when all those eyes tracked the boy. Looking back at Harry he could see why they watched him, he wanted to watch him, wanted to do more than watch him. He'd stand up and wrap his arms around him from behind, growl _'mine'_ in his ear and claim him in front of the whole school. Of course he couldn't do that, well he could but it might cause the older end of the hall a few problems. And he wasn't so sure that when he got Potter in that position somebody else wouldn't come along and fight him for the brunet.

He wanted to claim him in private, after he'd won him of course, proved how strong he was to be his, worthy of his protection, he wanted Harry above him, his lean body pressing _him_ into the mattress. His face hovering inches from his own, before Harry's body took him in one fluid thrust. And when they came together, Harry would roughly push _his_ neck to the side and sink his fangs into the exposed column of Draco's throat. And if Draco were lucky he'd be able to manoeuvre his own mouth to mark Harry on the opposite side.

It was lucky for Draco that everyone was watching Harry, for his cheeks had taken on a decidedly un-Malfoyish tinge and his breathing was slightly erratic. He was wanting Potter more and more with each passing moment, but did he dare make a move.

000

Harry sat for a moment with the hat firmly on his head, it did not cover his eyes as it had in first year, no this year it rested snugly on his head. Though just like the first time every one was craning their necks to get a good look at him. He closed his eyes and ignored them.  
The hat when it spoke kept its voice low, even though its words were spoken into Harry's mind…

_'Mr Potter as this is your seventh year I wanted to speak with you and find out how Gryffindor had suited you.' _Harry could understand that._ 'For all intents and purposes you have spent six years in the wrong house, there are many times over those years that I have regretted my decision. You did belong in Slytherin.'  
'Are you going to…'  
'Move you? No.'  
'Why not, Gryffindor has been good to you, the people you know now, would never have befriended you as a Slytherin. They have grown now and would understand if I were to move you. But moving you would do nothing to gain the Slytherin's confidence. They wouldn't trust you, wouldn't believe you were one of them. You will have to get the Slytherins on your side by showing them who you really are. No more masks this year Harry. Approach Malfoy, use Blaise's trust to convince them all. Convince the Slytherin Ice Prince and his followers will follow you! But don't get too close to Malfoy Harry, trust me!' _

'Unity is more important than ever, this is not just some old twaddle that I'm spouting. I've never thought splitting everyone up was a wise decision and told you're ancestor Godric so after he created me…I sense your surprise, yes you are a descendent of Godric Gryffindor and…Salazar Slytherin!' 

To say Harry was shocked was an understatement, admittedly ever since he'd pulled Gryffindor's sword out of the sorting hat he'd wondered about Dumbledore's words from second year _"Only a true Gryffindor could pull that out of the hat"_. But Salazar Slytherin!

_'I know what you are thinking Harry. The Slytherin qualities you have always possessed are not from the connection to Voldemort as Dumbledore would have you believe. See I was around in that time and I saw Godric and Salazar together, a more devoted couple I have never seen. At that time though even amongst witches and wizards, same sex relationships were considered wrong. It wouldn't have mattered to anyone that Salazar and Godric were mates, they would have been condemned for just being who they were. They kept their love life secret, only Helga and Rowena knew of their love. The two of them were in a relationship together as well, though not as deep and as long lasting as the men. They eventually married respectable pure blooded wizards below them in power.' _

'I forget that you know little of our world, in the past as you know women were afforded little rights but luckily for some, the forefather of magic Merlin set down a rule to help protect them. The world would have stood against Merlin if he had outwardly said his beliefs and all the good he did would have gone undone. The rule he set down is concrete, although there is little need for it today it can still be called upon. Now by marrying someone of a lower power both women were entitled by Merlin's law to run their own lives. In the muggle world a man was the head of the house as he was seen as the strongest physically, well physical strength has little bearing in our world unless said strength has an effect on that persons magic.'

'Merlin decided that in a relationship the strongest no matter the gender would be in charge of protecting the other and the old fashioned marriage ceremonies reflect this. Few now use that ritual as it is more than binding it is absolute. The stronger of the two is required to protect the other to the end of their lives. Some wondered why Merlin did this, the reason itself is simple he had four daughters and he could not imagine his children being treated as second best, especially when he knew they were bested in ability only by himself.'

'So by marrying someone of less strength the two founders were able to retain their high status instead of 'gifting' it to their husbands. A stronger man would have taken their positions in the school.'

'Couldn't they have married Salazar and Godric?' Harry asked.  
_'They could have yes but as I said Godric and Salazar were mates, to have married another, even in that situation would have killed both of them. Anyway back to the point, Godric and Salazar remained in the eyes of the world un-bound, they bonded together in secret, with myself and the other two founders as witnesses. The animosity between the two was all an act. They each fathered a child of the other, hid them from the world and passed them off as bastards.' _

'I know. A male though is allowed to adopt a bastard as heir and so both of them had heirs to their name. They were very careful. Helga and Rowena knew of course and helped them, the girls of course could not do the same thing with each other until after they were wed. They of course had a child with their husbands but also had a child with the other. Unfortunately the surviving line died out in the 1600s. But Salazar and Godrics children lived. When Salazar left the school he took his son with him and hid him, I have no knowledge of why this was done. But Salazar deemed it necessary. He never even told Godric where he had hidden him, not six months after he left, Godric felt _his_ death, he was wearing me at the time and I felt his pain, his heart stopped that instant. His son took his father's place as did the children of Helga and Rowena but Salazar's place had to be filled by another.'

'The children were termed by which founder had birthed them and those of Godric's body always remained close to the school, it was several centuries before a descendent of the child birthed by Salazar entered the school. By then both lines had bred with others but both of the bloods remained strong in them. When they came together again, the love of their forefathers came alive in them as well. And has done so several more times over the centuries. But something always drives the two apart, it is strange.'

'Why are you telling me this?' Harry asked in his mind.  
_'I am telling you this because you are the descendent of those birthed by Gryffindor and fate or whatever the driving force is will try and push you and the other born of slytherin together again.' _

'How do you know?'  
'I have timed the attempts, it is as if the conditions were not right before and I do not know whether they are right now but it will try regardless. I am warning you Harry, it always happens in seventh year, you will be driven together and conceive children, either one or two never more than that. As all I have seen is failure I won't allow it to happen to you Harry, I've grown rather fond of you. You remind me so much of my creator and his mate, a more perfect balance of the two I have never yet seen. But heed me Harry, you must not let it drive you together, none of your ancestors have been able to withstand the pull when it starts but you must. A few years together is all it gives, enough to carry on the line and once the children are born the parents are not needed. It will drive you apart for whatever reason and it will kill you, both of you. You wont live to see twenty Harry if you let it get hold of you!'

'Who is it, the other descendent?' He asked although he already knew the answer.  
_'Draco Malfoy!'_

000

When he lifted the hat from his head he saw the entire school watching him. He placed the hat on the school and walked out of the Great hall without a backward glance, dimly aware that Ron and several others were shouting his name. And that grey eyes were following his every move.

A/N… hey guys when someone says to claim it just means mark as their own. So both partners do it. In the case of the dom it could be on either the back of the neck or the front depending on the position. With the sub it will only be the front of the neck and is done as the dom 'dominates' i.e takes him. As I mentioned earlier Draco IS submissive, but Krai sensed a little bit of dominance in him, so keep that in mind.

A/N2…if anyone is wondering the founders were said to be the greatest of the age, but greatness doesn't necessarily mean they were the strongest at that time.


	18. Chapter 18

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Sorry about the long wait I havent had access to my Word documents for the last couple of weeks soi couldn't update. Sorry about the chapter as well its only short. I'll hopefully be updating again on Monday.

Vamprisslizy

Elia LeFae

Kylip

Queen of Happy

US2UK06

Estry

Silvermane1

Makurayami Ookami

Murgy31

.

.

_**Chapter 17: Intermission No2**_

That damned hat.

Things had been progressing nicely enough. The open hostility between both boys had lessened. Admittedly he hadn't had to do much in changing his Master's perceptions. When his Master had witnessed the boy's unusual behaviour it had triggered a train of reasoning that led his Master to his current feelings. Harry had understood then that the Malfoy boy was a lot like himself. Alone, manipulated, with a reputation to live up to, the only thing that was different were the consequences of acting or not acting. He had realised that Malfoy was as trapped as he was, in a world that cared if you failed in those expectations but couldn't care less what happened to you as long as you did what they expected.

He wouldn't let that happen to either of them. Harry would fulfil those expectations because it was the right thing to do, but he wouldn't do it alone, he would have a mate and both of them would be safe and prepared for the moment when the light turned on them. For turn it would, walkers always fear what they can't understand and can't control.

He'd had to work more on the Malfoy boy, but luckily the boy had already begun to move away from his family. He had just reinforced this, but he'd had to chip away at all those pureblood ideals and doctrines that had made up the boys life. He hadn't done enough to fully remove those prejudices but he had been confident that Harry could continue where he left off.

He'd been fairly confident in all the measures he had taken and had been happy that the matter of his Master's mate would be solved upon their return to the Castle. But that damnable sorting hat had surprised him, he'd been unable to insinuate himself in their conversation. The hat had been designed to keep the contact private between the two, but luckily Krai had been able to hear everything that the hat thought. And things that his Master hadn't picked up on, due to the emotionless monotone drone of the hats thought voice. But he'd picked up on everything the hat left unsaid and the hats fear.

And that alone told him how serious his words were. The sorting hats fear had been quite palpable to his tongue, especially for a being with no physical body to scent. Krai would have known if the hat lied.

The snake had been prepared for many things this year, the manifestation of his Masters bloods, his mate and the threat of the dark snake lord. He had known that his Master had both Slytherin and Gryffindor blood in his veins, after all that was where his Master's creature blood came from. His Master's ancestors were an important part of Krai's knowledge, as one of his main duties was to help his Master to adjust. His Master was rare.

He was hybrid. A combination of different bloods, that resulted in something totally unique in the magical world. In the muggle world entire species of hybrids were created, in fact a lot of the animals alive were hybrids. But in the magical world a hybrid was a rare event, something that appeared only once and when it was gone it was gone. Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor had both been hybrids themselves and had passed on their creature blood to their children. Though admittedly, that blood was stronger in Harry than in the Malfoy boy. Both boys had a different combination of the bloods; Draco was in fact much weaker than Harry.

He would be surprised if the Malfoy boy received little more than a substantial power boost. Whereas his Master would receive a lot more. Draco may develop one or more small physical changes but little more than that. The higher concentration of blood was in his Master.

These traits had been passed down from the founders to their current generation of descendants and it had made Krai wonder what else had been passed down within it. Now he knew. It was a strange thing, this continual repetition of the past. He gone through the possibilities in his mind, the likeliest was a time slip, he knew that, it was why that was the problem, he just didn't know why. If he knew why, he could stop it.

He knew that his Master would be thinking over what he heard till the early hours of the morning. He also knew that right now his Master really wanted to be alone. He had put up silencing charms around his bed and had placed a locking charm on the curtains. He respected his Master's wishes and waited for him to sort through his thoughts. It was good that his Master wanted to be alone with his thoughts, he wouldn't be with his Master forever and Harry needed to learn how to make his own decisions.

No one else in his young Master's life had allowed him to make his own decisions and because of that he had no confidence. By increasing his Master's confidence he was making it possible for his Master to live. And to do it in his own way. Krai wouldn't be around forever but he would be here for as long as his young snake lord needed him.

He wondered what decision his Master would come to. Would he still acknowledge his attraction to the blonde. Would he even realise they were mates or would he push him away. Would the bond head back down the volatile path now, would they end up hating each other again. And when his Master defeated the dark snake lord would the bond then drive two intended souls to kill each other.

……

A/N…Hey guys know it was short, but there's only so much a snake can say without giving the plot away.


	19. Chapter 19

Thank you to everyone who reviewed.

windlg

Vamprisslizy…thank you. I think that's one of the hardest things about writing. I'm glad you thought I gave just enough info. Hopefully I'll continue to do that.

Murgy31 Makurayami Ookami

Silvermane1

_**Chapter 18: Midnight Thoughts **_

It had been hard keeping his secrets from Ron and the others but thankfully Ron had understood that some things were best left unsaid. His little red head was all grown up. It was strange how good a friend Ron suddenly seemed. Something there seemed to nag at his mind.

But he had other things to think about right now.

He didn't want to admit it but what the sorting hat had said had scared him. It wasn't an appealing thought that he could die in some other way than the way he had envisioned for so long, at the end of Voldemorts wand.

If Voldemort didn't kill him then apparently this link to the past would. It was almost like…he wasn't meant to be happy, not for long at least. And then there was Draco, he couldn't think of him as Malfoy anymore. That had all ended on the train earlier today.

He'd seen the Draco he'd wanted to see.

Never before had he thought the blonde to be so alluring, annoying yes, but beautiful, desirable, captivating, never. His eyes had never strayed from Draco's face the whole time and he remembered well how he couldn't seemed to speak, it was as if he wasn't able to, for to speak would ruin the moment.

He'd seen something in Draco that day and it had called out to him. His touch, his breath it had all sent a shiver down his spine. He had liked it, he wasn't afraid to admit that. That was probably his Gryffindor bravery kicking in and he'd need all of it if he was about to tell Ron he liked Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret. He smiled, Draco had been a very pretty ferret.

Right, so Draco was pretty now. He'd established that when his breath had hitched on the train.

Malfoy was long gone now.

An hour ago he was actually considering asking Draco out (Gryffindor bravery again). But now he didn't know what to do.

And Draco didn't even know what it was the hat had said. Draco deserved to know.

His thoughts were jumbled, everything in his head that day had gone back to Draco.

_Draco_, he almost whispered the name. He wanted to, so he did. It almost seemed to roll off his tongue, it sounded perfect to his ears. Gods he was getting sappy, but he wanted to speak that name again and again.

What he felt for Draco, differed completely for what he had ever felt for Malfoy. There was a sense of rightness about Draco, like he was the one he'd been looking for. It was almost like a craving, he wanted Draco, badly. The thought of the blonde was just too arousing. He knew that if thoughts of Draco could do this to him, then seeing him…seeing him and not being able to touch…to kiss, would be just unbearable. He wanted, he wanted Draco Malfoy and he'd be damned if some ancient curse or whatever it was dictated his life. He'd had enough of that. Enough of being the one destined to kill the dark lord, enough of Dumbledore's golden boy and he'd had enough of people and _things_ telling him when to die.

This was something he'd decide for himself and he had, he wanted Draco and he would have him whether he died or not. His Mum and Dad had had each other for only a short time, but they'd been happy and if he could talk to them now, he knew neither of them would regret their love. But this brought him back to the problem of Draco, telling Draco. He couldn't just go up to him and start a relationship without the blonde knowing about this and he certainly couldn't keep his creature blood in the dark, he'd have to ask Krai later tonight, this was something he felt he needed to know now. Something he had to tell Draco.

And then there was the relationship itself, would it work out between them. Oh how he hoped it would…wait…did he really want that. It really did, he really did feel like he wanted him forever. How could feelings have changed that much that fast. Well one thing was certain Draco would never feel that way about him. Nothing ever went easy for him did it? The first time he fell in love, feel so hard it hurt…it was with Draco Malfoy his enemy of six years.

And technically yes, they were still enemies, random moments in bathrooms aside. Maybe Draco had just been teasing…had he actually done anything that indicated he wanted a relationship with Harry. No. Maybe…he really didn't know.

And there was only one way to find out…to ask him. Maybe be laughed at, by the whole school, by Draco…now that thought hurt, Draco laughing at him. Draco had laughed at him for the past six years and it hadn't hurt, why did it hurt so much now. Could he really love the blonde boy…the one who had made his life a living hell. He could…he really could.

But that was it wasn't it? Everything depended on Draco, if Draco didn't want him, they couldn't have children and…maybe they couldn't die. If Draco was stronger than he was…then maybe it wouldn't happen. But that didn't work for him, he wanted a relationship with Draco, he'd satisfy for being friends if that was all the boy was willing to give him.

And again that was another problem entirely, how to be friends with Draco? And would Draco want to be? That was something he'd have to figure out tomorrow when he saw the blonde again. His reaction would tell him if being friends would work and if more were possible.

For now, he would try to be friends with Draco, nothing more.

With that he dropped the holding spell on the curtains and allowed his familiar inside. It was time to get a few answers.

The moment Krai slithered through the gap, Harry waved his hand and closed it again. Krai inwardly smiled at his Masters show of talent. Pleased that Harry had harnessed the power available to him and had picked up so easily on the wandless magic Krai had taught him. It was easy really, being a snake he couldn't hold a wand nor could he gesture, he controlled Harry's magic with his mind. And since Harry had some very snake-like qualities, he could do it also. His young snake lord at the moment was more comfortable gesturing with his hand but with practice he wouldn't need it.

Krai knew what his Master was thinking, he could see it clearly in Harrys mind now that the barrier between them was gone. And he agreed, it was time for Harry to learn of his bloods, because it was time for Harry to learn he had a mate…

'I want to know Krai, I think its time now, that you told me what I am…or at least will be when its manifested fully?' Harry's voice was low, but it had an authoritative tone that had been lacking before. Krai was in no doubt that this was an order veiled as a request. He smiled, Harry was so much better than he had been. Krai paused a moment before he began.

_What you are is something special, something that has never before been seen in a walker. And yet you are more than that. You know that Salazar's blood runs through you, Salazar is more than just a founder of this school. He carries an ancient bloodline that comes from as far back as Merlin himself. Merlin's mother mated with a rare creature, their combined blood gave birth to his power, his magical strength. But the characteristics of the creature never manifested in him and has not done so it any of his descendents but it will in you. I will discuss this one again after we get the minor bloods out of the way…_

That's why the hat told me about Merlin isn't it?

Yes, but you have more than that bloodline. Though Gryffindors bloods are more mundane than Slytherins they are still fairly impressive by anyones standards. Now Godric, he was a hybrid, Godric's second blood was more diluted…not worth mentioning unless it actually manifests. Salazar's was also a hybrid, he was part dark elf, your appearance now comes from that. But there is more than that, the slant to your eyes that is beginning to appear, that is from Godric's first blood. This blood is demonic, though not of the common kind…Godric was a cat demon, he could change at will from human form to that of a humanoid cat. You will not be able to do this as that blood has been heavily diluted as well over the years. It is the elf that is the strongest of the minor three and it is that blood that has merged with your rarest blood to form the person you are now and have always been. The other two can mainly be ignored but it is likely they will have some minor effect on you towards the end of your eighteenth year.

Now the blood from Salazar that I mentioned is from an ancient creature that survives now only in Graeco-Roman myth. Scholars would find its name and mistake it for that of a dragon. But it isn't a dragon, a different species entirely. The forefather of snakes as a matter of fact. The King of serpents…

I thought…

You thought a basilisk was the King of Serpents, most modern books have it so. No the basilisk is more like a cousin to the monarch. Of the same ilk but not the true ruler. This creature is snake-like in appearance and is winged as is a dragon, but whereas a dragon has little more power than being able to breathe ice or fire, this creature's power was said to be immeasurable. The combination of both the dark elf blood and this one is one of the reasons that has led to you developing such a strong feeling for the Malfoy boy. I think it is very wise the course you have decided to adopt with him but if there is any doubt in your mind, if you are unsure that you are meant to be together…then I believe the name of the creature will help you…

What is it?

Draco  
What?

The creatures name is Draco…  
…

…

A/N…And that's why Krai was surprised when he heard Draco's name…

So that's it for another chapter, what ya think? Do you like Harry's bloods, I wanted a combination of power and I wanted a snake but I didn't want something as obvious as a basilisk, so I thought why not a flying snake that's quite obscure (in the book ive got probly not in others but), so I can take it in my own direction. There is one blood I've left hidden for now, cos it isn't important til later.

The entry in my encyclopaedia reads… Draco is the version of the dragon found in Graeco-Roman myth…early classical writings suggest a kind of winged serpent rather than the more traditional shape of the dragon. It had the ability to dazzle its victims with a bright light which shone everywhere from the length of its body.

The Element Encyclopaedia of Magical Creatures, by John and Caitlin Mathews.

As I said info is obscure so any knowledge people could give me will be appreciated, but it means that I can take liberties, I wanted something where I set the limits.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N...Thanks to everyone who reviewed. The number seems to be getting less and less with each chapter but i'll continue to post this for now. As long as i've got some interest i'll carry on.

Katsy17

Makurayami Ookami

Silvermane1

genocide-bloodshed

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Chapter 19: Lessons

Albus Dumbledore was not a man accustomed to things messing up his plan. And in just over a month three things had come along that threatened everything he had worked towards for the past seventeen years. First the damnable defence against the dark arts position. The position was cursed, not for the teachers but for him. He'd always known about Remus and Severus, even when they were young and didn't know it themselves. Back then they hadn't known better.

And he had been able to keep them apart, by encouraging the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry to the point it was today. Just short of war.

But despite all this the two of them grew closer, no matter what he did he couldn't keep them apart. He couldn't have that. From the moment Severus entered the castle Dumbledore had moulded him, shaped him to take up the mantle of the dark arts. The fact that Severus had prior knowledge of the dark arts was useful. He took great care, kindling the boys hatred for Black and Potter. He made sure that enough humanity remained in Severus to balk at the tasks assigned him by the dark lord. Thus ensuring he had the perfect spy.

The fact that Remus was a werewolf seemed almost beneficial to him. A possible second spy. But alas the wolf was too much a Gryffindor. He wouldn't have the stomach to stand at the dark lords side. The wolf was useless and Albus made plans to remove him. What he didn't count on was that the two of them would sit in the same compartment on the train and that they would be mates. Luckily the bond didn't have the time to cement before they were forced into different houses.

This left Albus with a problem. He couldn't kill the wolf without killing his spy. The bond was still there whether noticeable or not. Severus would feel the connection break and would die as a consequence. He had no choice but to allow Remus to live. He hadn't actually regretted that, Remus had been useful to him over the years. But he couldn't have the two of them growing closer and undoing all the work he had done on their houses. The Gryffindor would destroy his spy, bring him back from the dark. And so he had 

pulled aside Potter and Black and told them of Severus's darker tendencies. The animosity between the three of them had been assured and the wolf could do nothing to prevent it. But through it all the two of them remained friends, sneaking around to meet in the library and do their work. It galled him when he had to make the wolf a prefect but the rest of the faculty would have been suspicious if he hadn't.

His moment came when he learned that Remus still hadn't told Severus of his 'condition'. With a little prodding from Black, he let events unfold, secure in the knowledge that Potter would do the right thing. And so with a little prodding from him the friendship dissolved.

He'd thought it was sorted. But then in third year events took an unexpected turn. He was forced to call the wolf in to teach defence. But he always knew he could let slip the wolf's condition if he needed to. And that's what he did.

Although the way he did it was quite spectacular if he did say so himself.

Placing _imperio_ on Severus had been pure genius. And it had the added benefit of further breaking the bond. Unfortunately for him though, something happened…he didn't know what. But whatever it was that happened made both of them realize they were mates. Luckily there was enough resentment on both sides to keep them apart. Unfortunately for him his spy wanted to return to the wolf and apologise, so he was forced to take certain measures to make sure that didn't happen. Any advances that Remus made were rebuffed by his surly Potions Master.

But now he had been forced to bring the wolf back. Not by his own decision but by order of the school governors, who deemed Professor Lupin the only one who could successfully train the students to meet Voldemort's threat.

And if that wasn't enough.

The Potter line had to have some recessive creature blood that then manifested in Harry. Dumbledore had known about that of course and he'd also known that Malfoy was his mate but as the bond hadn't seemed strong enough to dispel their hostility he had ignored it. And that had been a big mistake, the boys seemed to be growing closer and it was all the fault of that snake. Harry may believe he had fooled him but he hadn't. None of the steps Harry had taken could hide the snake from him.

Something would have to be done about that snake. He had come too far in his plans for Harry, to have them ruined now.

000

Harry Potter was very tired. Sudden realisations and revelations aside, although they were enough to give anyone a restless night he hadn't slept a wink. The reason he hadn't slept a wink, was a bloody gorgeous blonde, who Harry noticed wasn't suffering the same problems. His unblemished and wide awake appearance proved it.

He wanted to lay his head down on the table and sleep but every time his head came close to connecting with the table Hermione would poke him and Ron would kick him. Harry roused himself yet again after a 

particularly vicious poke…Professor McGonagall was stood behind him trying to hand him a timetable. He smiled sheepishly at her as he took it, she didn't smile back just stalked off, doing a remarkably good Snape impression if he did say so himself. And speaking of Snape…he glanced at his timetable and…yep, perfect. Double potions first thing. Wouldn't you know it. Harry groaned and this time let his head smack into the table.

Why couldn't they give them a day to get used to being back. Then again he supposed it was his own fault, he didn't have to make Krai tell him what he was last night. He could have waited but no…gone midnight was the perfect time for a ground breaking conversation wasn't it?

Huh…seemed like lack of sleep made him sarcastic. Great, his Slytherin side was showing. Hhhhhmmmm, speaking of his Slytherin side, he picked his head up and looked towards the far table. Draco was watching him, when he saw Harry looking his mouth formed a perfectly delicious smirk. Harry's heart skipped a beat, that wasn't a Malfoy patented smirk. There was a tenderness there, something he'd never thought he'd see on Draco's face.

Then Pansy leaned over to say something to Draco and the Malfoy mask was back. As Draco looked away Harry cast a glance at the rest of the Slytherins to see if any of them had noticed the exchange. His eyes unsurprisingly met Blaise's, who quirked an eyebrow at him, Harry shrugged his shoulders and Blaise smirked. Harry just laughed at him, what was it with Slytherins and smirks?

He risked another glance at Draco and found him staring at Blaise with an odd look on his friend. Blaise being Blaise just offered Draco another smirk. It took him a moment to get what the expression on Draco's face was.

Draco's jealous? A smile curved his lips, he couldn't help it…Draco was jealous.

Suddenly the possibility of Draco rejecting him seemed less likely. He felt wide awake now, he was so full of energy he had to stop himself from bouncing in his seat.

It was a good thing he didn't, Krai wouldn't have appreciated it. The snake was currently happily lodged in his lap, Harry kept sneaking him bits of sausage under the table, or at least he was when he was awake enough to do so.

He turned his attention back to his own table. Hermione was staring at him again, but it wasn't the usual knowing Hermione stare. It reminded him too much of the Creevey brothers and the first years. He didn't like it. Ron on the other hand had a speculative gleam in his eye he had obviously seen the exchange, he raised a questioning eyebrow, Harry just shook his head and mouthed 'later'. He looked away to the staff table, Happy to see Remus back where he belonged.

Remus was chatting with McGonagall, it was strange to see the woman actually smiling. He looked further down the staff table, Snape was eating his breakfast with his usual sneer, but to Harry who had gotten better at reading the git over the past year thought he looked quite downcast. He wondered what could make Snape look like that. He watched for a while longer, Snape kept shooting glances down at Remus but they weren't the loathing filled looks from third year. This was different the closest word he could find to describe it was longing. What the hell was going on there!

After a while he looked away, that was something to think about later. Just then the post owls flew in. Neville got his usual package of things he'd forgotten. Ron got his usual copy of the Daily Prophet, Draco got a package full of sweets from his mother. Hedwig flew in to take some bacon and gave a hoot of greeting to Krai before flying off. It took him a moment to realize a school owl was waiting for him to take his letter. He didn't know who'd be writing to him, other than the Weasley's everyone that he knew was here. He supposed it could be Hagrid asking him to tea.

_Harry My Boy,_

Could you come to my office tonight at eight I would like to have a word with you. The password is 'Blood Pops'.

Albus

He looked up at the staff table in time to see Dumbledore nod. He nodded in return. He had to go, he knew that he'd have to face Dumbledore at some point. The only thing to think about was whether or not Krai should come with him. If he didn't come he could miss out on something important that Krai would notice and if he did come Dumbledore might realise Krai was there. They'd have to discuss it later, it was too risky to chat now, you never knew when sneaky legilimens would try to force their way into your thoughts. Couldn't risk parseltongue either, it was too noticeable. They'd have to wait while later.

000

Draco was in a foul mood, he stalked through the corridors almost in his usual manner, scaring first year hufflepuffs out of their wits. Which was actually a good thing, he might be on the side of light but he wasn't dumb enough to advertise it yet, Slytherin self-preservation was a wonderful thing. The reason for his foul mood? Potter, no not Potter…_Harry_. Yes Harry, stupid Gryffindor. What was he doing flirting with Blaise and what was Blaise doing? Harry was his.

Draco was dragged forcibly out of his thoughts when someone yanked on his arm. He found himself behind a tapestry just outside the entrance to the dungeons.  
'Blaise, what the hell are you doing?' his friend looked a little shaky but also determined.  
'Well I must admit that since Slytherins believe in self-preservation this is probably a bad idea. But I just wanted to tell you not to worry about me and Harry.'

Draco understandably took this the wrong way and was going to blow up when Blaise cut him off.

'No that's not what I mean Drake. Harry and I have been friends for a year now. Friends that's all Drake. Harry's not my type although he is hot, but I prefer red heads.'  
Draco knew his friend well enough to know that he was deadly serious in what he said.

He smirked.

'Good because if you ever lay a finger on my man, I'll hex your balls off and then what would you do?' Blaise's hand drifted down to hide his bits.  


'You wouldn't, no I take that back. You would!'  
'Glad we understand each other.' Then he smiled. 'Come on we're late for potions.'

000

Like usual they all managed to slip in the door before Snape came in. Although his stalk seemed half hearted at best and his robes didn't billow at all. What was going on? Snape stood next to his desk for a moment and seemed to shake his head, a moment later he was composed and back to his usual self.  
'This is a NEWT level potions class, some of you are here for reasons other than your marks…' he said glancing in Harry's direction. 'Any fooling around and you will be gone, the potions on the curriculum are all highly dangerous. And I don't care who you are…' a pointed look at the slytherins. 'If you intend to act like idiots then you will be gone. Out of this class and out of the school. The substances you will be dealing with are extremely volatile and because of this I have the Headmasters permission to hold your wands.'  
And with that Snape waved his wand, summoned all of their wands and locked them in his desk draw. Harry saw Snape smirk and almost scowled, bloody Slytherin's and their smirks. Snape waved his wand again, the days instructions appeared on the board and he told them to get on with it.

Two hours later everyone was packing up. Harry had never been so ready to leave the dungeons. It wasn't Snape this time but Hermione, with Ron sat behind them all of her attention was focused on him. If he had to listen to her give one more lecture never mind the Slytherin's he'd probably blow up a cauldron himself just to get away.  
He was almost to the door when Snape's voice rang out.

'Mr Potter, a word.' Harry groaned.  
Snape was facing the shelves behind his desk and didn't turn around until everyone had left.  
'Mr Potter I noticed today some improvement in your potions skills.' It wasn't a question but Harry wasn't stupid enough not to take it as one.  
'I might have studied that book you picked out.' Snape just gave a short nod.

'Dumbledore wants me to continue teaching you occlumency, unfortunately as you are in my NEWT class and passed the course last year, I cannot say that your recent potions grades are not up to scratch but I can remain adamant in my belief that your grades previous to your OWLs were unsatisfactory. So you are taking remedial potions for the first four years of your schooling. I realise that tonight you have a meeting with the headmaster so I will set our first session for tomorrow night.' Snape just looked at him for a moment as if he wanted to say something further but he didn't.

Harry left a few moments later, Snape had been almost nice. He headed off to break, to meet up with Ron and Hermione. Now that he was out of the dungeons his thoughts went straight to Draco, the intense atmosphere of the dungeons and the knowledge that his potion could blow up at any moment had kept his thoughts centred on the lesson. But now, Draco was the first thing that came to his mind. He was so distracted he almost walked into a wall, causing Krai to hiss in alarm.

_Watch where you are going Master._

Sorry Krai, I was distracted.

_Yes I could see that Master. It may be an idea not to let thoughts of your mate distract you. It may be dangerous._

Krai remained silent for a moment. __

Master I am going to change position. Krai slipped a further coil around Harry's neck, the feel of the scales caused Harry to shiver. He was glad Krai warned him, cos if he hadn't he'd have probably had a much more obvious reaction.

_Something strange is going on Master, the dark one didn't seem natural._

Yeh I know he's never usually so nice…Its…

No Master. When we met him in Diagon Alley the moment he picked out the book for you, that was him. The words he spoke and his manner weren't. Today was more him, strict but honest. It is dangerous work and a warning and a mention of the punishment is the best way to reinforce that. He is smart. And not what he appears.

Harry thought for a moment._ If something's wrong what do we do?_

We do nothing for now. More information is needed. I have my suspicions Master. I wish to see your 'family'.

Family? Oh Remus.

Yes. Whatever is going on, he is part of it as well.

Do you wish to meet him or just observe.

For now observe. There is danger here for me, to show myself now would not be of benefit.

Maybe you should return to the Manor.

That would not be a good idea Master. I must remain with you here until you have no more need of me. After that I will just be a friend to offer advice.

You wont be going anywhere. Harry stated.

_Thank you Master, I wish to remain with you until my last days._

You will be. Now we'd better get to Herbology. We've just chatted the break away. And after dinner you can get a closer look at Remus.

000

Dinner went by quite quickly, maybe because he and Draco kept 'making eyes' at each other across the hall. 'Making eyes' was the term Ron used to describe their looks after Hermione had gone to the Library. 

Ron had told him that he didn't want to say anything in front of her and that if he didn't know better he'd say she fancied Harry. Ron knew something was going on between him and Draco, so he'd just told Ron that he'd explain it all later.

The two of them headed off to DADA. Remus paired them all off and set them to duelling each other. Luckily he paired Harry with Ron, he didn't think he could have duelled Draco and he'd have probably been too hard on Hermione, especially if she started lecturing him on the proper way to hold a wand. Krai slipped off his neck a bit into the lesson, he didn't fancy having to try and un-hex a snake that no one else could see.

Krai spent his time following Harry's 'family' around. Observing the manner of the wolf in two legs skin. Harry's Remus was himself, unlike this 'nape…no Snape. The dark one was as natural as the white stuff two legs called 'plastic'. The wolf had a restless air to him, like he wanted something but it was just outside of his reach.

Krai was beginning to understand, he had to tell his Master of his suspicions.

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Notes on bond/mates…

All humanoid creatures, i.e. Veela, Werewolves, Vampires and so on have mates. That is because all of the humanoid species (in this fic), mate for life.

There is also a magic induced bonding, (the wizarding version of marriage). This is performed by a two part ritual and can be done by anyone. This is only broken if both (sometimes more) participants desire the bond to be broken. The only other way to nullify the bond is for one participant to kill the other. If this is not done the bond lasts until death and as witches and wizards can live upto seven (magical number) generations longer than muggles this can be problematic. Although this doesn't happen often, two to three generations usually at a maximum.

The bond Harry and Draco share is something different. Harry is a creature (Draco might be) and so Harry's blood is calling out for a mate. His mate could be anyone, the attraction comes from chemical secretions of the body, scent, blood, sweat, pheromones, hormones and so on. Creatures also like the taste of their mates flesh, that is why a vampire/werewolves mate is usually human, the combination of taste (vamps case food), scent and sex is heady, addictive and impossible to be denied.

The enemy/love bond that I mentioned before is due to Harry's magic, his powerlevels are unbelievable and because of the sheer scale need to be shared. This is a soulmate bond. Harry's magic chose Draco at 

conception and has been hibernating until Harry's transition where its full power will be released and the pull too strong to resist.

Dumbledore doesn't know the nature of their bond, just believes it is due to Harry's creature blood.

Hey hopefully this helps but if not just ask…


	21. Chapter 21

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Hope ya like this chapter.

DestinyEntwinements,

Silvermane1,

Makurayami Ookami,

MistyMossflower

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Chapter 20: A Meeting with Dumbledore

Harry headed to Dumbledore's office a bit earlier than he intended to. It just seemed like a good idea. Him and Ron had rushed through dinner and headed up to Gryffindor tower to talk. Ron's reaction to him and Draco being mates had been as he'd expected. Ron had gaped at him like a landed fish for a moment, before taking a deep breath and exploding. The rant lasted for quite a while. Harry didn't actually listen to it, he could guess what Ron was saying, he would be spouting the evilness of Slytherins and the cruelty of one blonde, sharp toothed but exceedingly cute ferret.

After about half an hour of reassuring Ron that he was in fact 'still sane' and no, he wasn't going to change his mind, Harry had left Ron still trying to come to terms with him and Draco Malfoy. Harry smiled. Ron was so predictable, he'd be angry for a while but by the time Harry got back from his chat with Dumbledore, he'd have calmed down enough not to argue. And tomorrow after he slept his anger off and had a good breakfast he'd accept it as just one of those things, he wouldn't be happy about it but he'd understand.

He'd left Krai in the dorms, as much as he wanted the snake with him it was too risky to have him with him. He knew that Dumbledore wouldn't want him to have a familiar, hopefully both him and Krai, as well as Ron…and Hermione would be able to keep Krai's presence a secret. Harry would have to use all of the slytherin cunning he possessed to prevent someone else finding out. He knew that he could trust Remus with the knowledge but he didn't want to, the more people there were who knew about a secret the less it was safe. Besides he had worries about Remus right now. He'd been watching him in DADA and his Godfather just didn't seem himself. He seemed irritable and agitated, as evidenced by his pacing…like a caged animal. He knew Krai would have some insights but those would have to wait until after his meeting with Dumbledore.

While he had been pondering, his feet had found their way to the stone Gargoyle, he said with a grimace of distaste _'Blood Pops'_ and went up the spiralling staircase. He didn't expect Dumbledore to be here yet as Dinner hadn't actually finished and Dumbledore usually stayed till the end. Sure enough the only one who was up there apart from himself was Fawke's, Dumbledore's phoenix and familiar. The phoenix gave a little trill of greeting when he saw Harry.  
He crossed over to the bird and stroked his soft plumage. 'Hello Fawkes.'

After a minute or two he glanced around the office and spotted what he was looking for. On a shelf at the far end of the room sat a dilapidated hat, that appeared to be snoring. Harry shook his head, weirder things had happened in the Wizarding world. He gave the hat a soft poke and waited for it to come around; he then picked it up and placed it on his head.

_Do you have a question young Potter?_

_I do yes._

Well ask.

I wanted to know more about Salazar and Godric, why Salazar left him?

That is something I cannot answer, I can tell you many things about the founders although most of it is dependent on my presence, other things I only heard through Godric's mind. The day Salazar disappeared was strange, he'd been withdrawn for a week ever since the Samhain…Halloween celebration. The celebrations that year had been very elaborate, I remember seeing many people walking the halls, exchanging greetings with my maker. All aspects of wizarding life were represented that year. It was Godric's idea to give the muggleborns some idea of the people and the world outside of Hogwarts, he believed that Hogwarts kept its students too sheltered from the world and that when they left many of them were lost and confused when they had no need to be.

Life was different then, more dangerous for our kind. It was a good idea, but it has never been done at this school since then. I know that it would help the students, teach muggleborns and purebloods how to interact…or at least a way to interact without wands drawn. It would make things simpler. But anyway the point is that Slytherin seemed restless after Samhain and many said it was due to this new idea of Godric's, after all most people believed they hated each other. Anyway Godric awoke to an empty bed, he checked their quarters…no sign of him. He then searched the rest of the Founder's wing to no avail. After similar results in the Great Hall, the Kitchen and Salazar's classroom, Godric was at a loss.

There was no note, no explanation…nothing. There was no word at all for months, Godric began to sicken, the separation from his mate was hurting him, but he didn't let it show he kept their secret until the end. And then with no warning he felt the connection sever and not a moment later he was dead under me.

I don't know why Salazar left Harry and I don't know whether we'll ever find out. But know this, Salazar Slytherin was not what the world has made him appear, he was a good man…a little biased perhaps, but a good man none the less. He loved his mate and he loved his children. I don't know what could have made him leave that but I do know that whatever it was that made him leave would have to be important. I couldn't imagine him forsaking the best thing that can happen to any soul without a good reason. 

Harry was silent for a moment, before voicing his questions. __

If Salazar's leaving affected Godric so much then why would you want to keep Draco from me?

You and Draco haven't mated yet Harry, until you do the bond wont form and you'll both be safe. What happened to Godric wont happen to you as long as you follow my advice and distance yourself emotionally from Draco. Harry shook his head fiercely and had to hold the hat in place.  
_  
I'm sorry I cant do that I need him. I feel it, I know there's no one else in the world who'll make me happy…just him. And so what if loving him will make my life shorter, it isn't a guarantee and there are other things trying to take me out and death by love seems a much better option than dying in a load of green light._

I never knew someone so young could speak like that.

I haven't been young for a long time. Harry answered dryly. __

_If you want to be with him Harry then I can't stop you and maybe you're right. I'm a hat I don't understand love. But I know that the people who find it are different than they were before. Whether that's a good thing or not depends. But I know you…maybe better than anyone. I've judged you Harry. I know you well and I know that you out of all the people I've seen…no one deserves a mate more than you do._

I want Draco and no one bar maybe Draco himself can stand in my way. 

000

Harry spoke with the hat for a little while longer, told him how he intended to befriend Draco and then if Draco wanted it, they could be more. The hat did not voice its opinions again, he trusted Harry to make his own decisions.

But then the hat had told him something strange.

After a few minutes of silence the hat spoke. __

Harry, listen to me I wasn't sure before but I've had a few minutes to look fully into your mind. Harry there's something there, something blocking one of your memories from me. I don't know what it is or when it's from but it would have had to have been done since first year, it wasn't there then. If anything I'd say sometime in the last two or three years. Harry someone's placed a memory charm on you, a strong one at that.

Can you break it?

No, I observe I don't interfere. Someone else will have to break it for you. 

Harry placed the hat back on the shelf a little bit later, his thoughts confused. Who would block one of his memories. After thinking about it for a few minutes he decided that there were three people who could have blocked his memory.

The first, though not technically a person was Krai, though he didn't believe it was the snake. He was just considering and Krai did have access to his mind, but he trusted his familiar and he didn't think that Krai would block a memory from him. But the snake had withheld information from him before. Well whatever, none of that mattered he trusted Krai and either way he'd be telling Krai about it later, if it was him the snake would admit it…he might not tell Harry what it was he was hiding but he would tell him he'd done it.

Snape was his second choice, now Snape also had access to his mind. He didn't like Harry and wasn't afraid to show it, he was a spy and would do absolutely anything to win the war. All of those things made Snape a possibility, but unlike his third choice he did actually trust Snape. The man had saved his life, he might not like him but he still saved him. And surely saving the life of someone you hated made you a good person.

Snape being a good person was an idea he had been fighting against for the better part of six years. But something had happened over the summer, with Krai's gentle guidance Harry had grown up. He had never been allowed to be a child, having spent most of his younger years cooking and cleaning for people who actively hated him. Harry had been a 'young adult' since he was nine. He'd passed out of that phase during the summer and had actually realised that Snape was doing nothing other than being a good spy. And the incident with his broom in first year had proved that, he had realised that Snape had always tried to help 

him in anyway he could. He'd helped by warning the Order in fifth year, he didn't have to but he did. This new awareness of his Potion Master was enough for Harry, he knew that Snape had nothing to do with his blocked memory.

Now Dumbledore on the other hand was a different matter. The man was manipulative; he had the skills, the power and the lack of feeling necessary to do such a thing. That was another thing that Harry had realised over the summer, Dumbledore didn't care about him.

If he had cared about him, then Harry would never have been left with the Dursley's, he'd have lived a happy life with one of his Godfathers. Harry understood more than he ever had before, Dumbledore had to have known that Sirius was innocent, but instead of saving an innocent man from Azkaban, he had allowed Sirius to live there…with those things, because Sirius being free somehow messed up his plans.

Dumbledore had to be the one to have hidden Harry's memory. But what memory was it and why had it been hidden. That was a question that he wouldn't be able to answer until they broke the memory charm. Looking back his memories seemed seamless, he couldn't say that anything seemed out of place or wrong. And that to him gave him more proof that it was Dumbledore, the person that did it would have had to have been very proficient with memory charms to leave the remaining memories so seamless. It was like removing a scene from a movie, if you didn't do it right the two ends wouldn't match and the viewer was left with the knowledge that something was missing.

Further pondering would have to wait until later, Dumbledore would be in from dinner soon. He went back over to Fawkes and as he stroked him, he felt the warmth of the bird seeping into his hand. And he thought how could one creature be so…perfect. _Draco,_ yes Draco was perfect, more so than the phoenix…Draco was his.

A moment later Harry heard a little warning bell go off and the next thing he knew Dumbledore had stepped into the office. Harry hid a smile, he finally knew how Dumbledore could tell there was someone outside his door.

'Ah Harry my boy, how are you?' he asked as he sat down behind the desk. 'Lemon drop?' he asked offering Harry the bag from inside his robes.  
'Er, no thank you Sir.' Krai had told him not to eat or drink anything that Dumbledore offered him and Harry wasn't going to.

Dumbledore regarded him over his half moon glasses, his eyes were twinkling but the twinkling was muted, which told Harry that the conversation was going to be serious, or at least serious to Dumbledore, Harry would probably just find it tedious.

'Now Harry, I wanted to have a little chat with you about this summer.' Harry fought the urge to role his eyes. How did he know!  
'I realise that you might not like your Aunt and Uncle…'  
'Might not like…I hate them and they hate me and you know that.' Harry yelled.  
'Harry, I know how you feel about them but it was necessary. And I thought you understood that.'  
'But…'  
'Keeping you safe Harry, is the most important thing. And the wards on Privet Drive would have kept you safe.'

'I may be safe from Voldemort there. But there are other dangers in the world Headmaster and I don't think you understand that.'  


'Harry…'  
'No Professor I made a decision to leave there and I'm sticking to it.'

Dumbledore was quiet for a moment and for the first time Harry experienced something that he never thought he would when in this man's presence. At that moment Albus Dumbledore made Harry Potter nervous. The next second it was gone and Harry wondered if he'd imagined it, but no, he wasn't that dumb. For a moment it seemed Dumbledore had shown his true colours.

'Very well Harry, if I can't change your mind, then I have no choice. You are of age after all. Would you like to tell me where you have been living?' Dumbledore said giving him a pointed look.  
'I was staying at the Leaky Cauldron Professor.' He answered. Technically it was true; he had stayed at the Leaky Cauldron, only for a day but that didn't matter.  
'Harry my boy, don't lie to me, I know for a fact that you didn't stay at the Leaky Cauldron.'  
'Actually Professor I did stay at the Leaky Cauldron.' He forced the truth into his voice; he just didn't tell him everything.  
'How?'  
'I've gotten pretty good at glamour charms over the years Professor.' Dumbledore just looked at him for a moment. Harry remained silent, letting Dumbledore take that comment how he would. The Dursley's had hated Harry and they had taken it out on him, mainly letting Dudley and his gang' beat him up, but they'd never done anything more than give him a few clouts round the head. Their preferred method of punishment was locking him in his cupboard, but Dumbledore didn't need to know that.

Finally he spoke. 'Very well Harry. That is all.'  
Harry left Dumbledore's office feeling that he'd won maybe one small victory. But there was no denying that his life had just become a little more complicated…and maybe a little less safe.

000

A/N...Hey guys what do you think? I actually thought that was one of my better chapters, I think I wrote some good dialog there (which incidentally I consider my weak point).

So if you've read please review too.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N...I was wondering if anyone knew a good latin translator? I'm working on another fic and the internet translator I'm using is crap.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Firgof Raina...Sorry but the memory is something i'm keeping secret for now. You'll only find out when Harry does but believe me it'll make you hate dumbles all the more.

punk-ninja-girl

Makurayami Ookami

DestinyEntwinements

fraewyn...Lol, i think thats a very good comparison. that image of Bilbo freaked me out the first time I saw it.

skrybspryt

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A/N…there is a point in this chapter that is from both Draco and Harry's pov. So be aware that thoughts may shift between the two, it's the very last section of the chapter.

Chapter 21 Second Day Blues

Harry returned to the Common room and sure enough Ron didn't argue anymore, he just shook his head at Harry, offered him a smile and asked how it'd gone with Dumbledore. Harry took both Ron and Krai up to the dorm and told them everything, what the hat had said and everything he'd thought about after. They both agreed with him that Dumbledore had to be the one who blocked his memory.

He was watching Krai, unsure if he had hurt the snake's feelings by considering him. Krai slid around his shoulders and offered him comfort the only way a snake could, by lightly squeezing his shoulders in its coils.

_You were right to consider me Master, I would do such a thing if I must. But I would tell you that I had. A memory block is a terrible thing it is an invasion, an indecent act, entered into unwillingly it is a rape of the mind, who knows what you could loose. I would only use such a thing with your permission and then only if the memory was hurting you, something soul destroying and dark that you couldn't understand or deal with. Something that leaving in your head would slowly destroy you until nothing but a shell remained. You my Master are strong, I don't think that will ever happen with you. You didn't hurt my feelings Harry, I may be your familiar, charged with your safety and general wellbeing but I am also a friend._

Thank you.

You are welcome Harry. Now we should turn our attention back to your friend he seems a little uncomfortable. 

Ron did look a little bit uncomfortable, but then again to him, he and Krai had been silent for the last couple of minutes. Seeing their attention was back on him Ron spoke.  
'Harry I was thinking…if it was Dumbledore that placed the memory charm on you the most likely time would be fifth year after Sirius died and he told you about the Prophecy. It would be good strategy, he was forced to reveal stuff to you and then blocked part of the conversation, leaving you satisfied but still in the dark.' Harry nodded, it made sense.

_Either that or he gave you knowledge that he didn't think you needed yet and blocked it to save him from having to explain it later. He could just remove the memory block._ Was Krai's thought.

_Maybe._ Harry answered. He relayed what Krai had said to Ron, the red head nodded in agreement. But neither of those seemed right to Harry.

'I don't think so.' He said aloud. 'Maybe like today Dumbledore's control slipped and he showed his true colours. Maybe he got angry with me when I smashed up his office. I was still following him blindly then, he couldn't risk me turning from him so he blocked the memory and acted like nothing had happened. He then told me how proud he was of me and how special I was.' Sarcasm was evident in that last part, his Slytherin side was showing more and more often. Then again he did have a snake familiar, he was more like his ancestor than he thought.

'That seems more likely mate. I can't believe we trusted him for that long.' Ron said in exasperation.  
'Don't worry about it Ron, he has everyone confused.' Harry thought for a moment he could think of nothing else to say on that subject. They discussed his ancestors, but came no closer to figuring out why Slytherin would have left. Harry was intrigued by his ancestors, he really wanted to know what had happened. Especially since it appeared that this whole curse had started with them. No matter how resigned Harry was to the possibility of death, he still didn't want to do it.

But things had become more complicated since he first figured that out. Now there was Draco, his mate. He didn't want Draco to suffer the same fate as him. The knowledge that Draco could die made his stomach knot with pain, the mere thought of the blonde dying made him want to howl and tear out his hair. He wanted to tear out the throat of whoever dared hurt his mate. The knowledge that there bond wouldn't give him time to do so angered him to no end.

With a growl he was up and pacing, his hands were flexing and obsidian claws were shifting in and out of his flesh. He wanted to use them, sink them into his enemies and sink his fangs into their throat…to protect his mate…

_Master…master…HARRY…calm down, no one will hurt your mate Harry. He's safe calm down._ The voice in his head was someone he trusted, reassuring, soft…there was a warm pressure around his leg. One he recognised. His mate was in no danger.

He opened his eyes, he was still in the boys dorms, but something wasn't right. The red velvet curtains and covers were speckled with white.  
'You ripped into the pillows mate…you just suddenly snarled and these dirty great claws came out and tore through the bed like paper. You looked like that Wolfrine guy that Dean's got a poster of.'

Harry was breathing heavily, trying to understand what Ron was telling him. He flexed his fingers, they didn't feel any different. He glanced down, nope…there weren't any claws. Then he spotted Krai, the snake was coiled around his legs, the snakes head was scratched and bleeding.

'Did…did I do that?'  
'Yeh you did mate…It wasn't your fault though. You weren't yourself.' Ron's voice was a little shaky.  
Harry dropped to the floor, his legs numb.  
'I'm sorry…I…'

Krai loosened his hold on Harry's leg and slid up into his lap.

_It wasn't your fault Master. You thought you were protecting your mate. I tried to calm you, moved too fast. It happens when mates are involved. You did nothing wrong Harry. And speaking of mates…I wanted to talk to you about your Godfather._ A second later Harry's curious expression was back and Krai was inwardly smiling. Ron noticed Harry's change in expression and moved to sit on the floor with his friend. He then took his wand out and fixed the covers and pillows. The next moment Harry had his wand out and was casting a healing spell on Krai. Relieved when the skin flowed together and the smell of the blood was cut off.

Inwardly Harry was cringing again, he'd liked the smell of his familiar's blood.

Something was really wrong with him.

The next morning Harry was again bleary eyed and irritable. He was finding it hard to come to terms with his actions from the night before. Sitting there on the floor with Ron last night he had felt ashamed of his actions, so what if it was natural to want to protect his mate. If Krai hadn't gotten through to him he might have turned on Ron. He'd gone to bed a few minutes later, not wanting Ron's silent company, he'd crawled under the covers and had pretended to sleep when Krai slithered in next to him. But the snake wasn't easily fooled and began to explain the usual behaviour of mating pairs both animal and human-like. He told Harry that since he was the dominant he'd be extremely protective of Draco and just the thought of him being hurt would bring out his aggressive side.

Harry would see other men as rivals for his submissive, other submissives would be tolerated but other dominants would be warned away and even attacked until the submissive accepted him. After that other dominants would be tolerated as long as the dominant trusted the others not to harm his submissive. In threatening situations the dominants blood lust could spiral out of control and only his submissive could calm him. Krai explained that the submissive would use the link they shared to do so. Krai also said that the familiar bond between the two of them had enabled him to reach through the blood lust and explain that his mate was safe. Harry had been dismayed to learn that he'd be unable to control himself. Or at least he was until Krai explained the reason for that.

Krai told him that the reason why dominants act that way is for one reason only, the sake of the submissive. The submissive could be hurt if the dominant is not strong or ruthless enough to deal with their enemies. Harry could understand that, he'd do anything he could to keep Draco safe.

A submissive is slow to anger and dislikes confrontations, because of that it relies on its dominant to protect it. A submissive will only fight when it's dominant is in danger or when it's young is threatened.

Harry had been a bit confused over that but since Krai was still explaining a submissives nature, he filed his questions away for later.

A submissive is slow to anger but once its wrath has been unleashed there is no stopping it until it destroys its enemy. Submissives have been known to fly into violent rages and obliterate their enemies. When its family is threatened the submissive will not differentiate between friend or foe and anyone in its way will be destroyed. The submissives anger once roused cannot be stopped until the submissive's anger is exhausted. That is why dominants take care of the fighting, the after effects of their anger leave the submissives weak, sick and feeling guilty. A submissive cannot afford to be careful when protecting its young. The simple fact is that the submissives ruthlessness causes the dominant more worry and is seen as a last resort. Legislation is in place to protect both dominant and submissives as long as the threat is considered valid no action is taken against either of the pair.

Once all that had sunk in, Harry asked Krai about the young comment. He was a bit shocked that Draco could give birth to his children, it was one thing to hear it had happened to someone else but it was entirely different when it involved yourself. Krai had seen the look on his face and had laughed in a snakish way and had said he was looking forward to seeing his Master's young. He told Harry that this was the most dangerous time, as the submissive was stressed from pregnancy and birth and considered everything barring their dominant a threat. Mated pairs often went into isolation until long after the birth. Harry's head had been swimming by then and he'd been unable to sleep.

Add to that the fact that Krai had woken him up early to talk about Remus, having not got round to it the night before and he had way too many things going through his head. According to Krai Remus was acting strange because he had found his mate and for some reason was unable to be with him. It had taken a moment for his brain to wake up, but then he'd realised who else was acting oddly.

_Are you telling me that my Godfather's mate is Snape!_

Yes, the dark one is his mate.

Is that why Snape is acting so oddly? He gave me that book in Diagon Alley and complimented me yesterday.

I don't really know master but I have my suspicions. I observed the man yesterday and the only time that he appeared to be natural was when he was talking with you after the lesson…

When he complimented me?

Yes. I have heard of a spell and some potions that…make a two-leg act how another wants them to. Harry didn't answer for a moment he was trying to figure out what Krai was on about.

_Are you telling me that Professor Snape is under the imperius curse?_

I believe so Master.

Bloody Hell! Harry couldn't believe it he had always hated the man and thought the feeling was mutual, if Snape was under the _imperius_ curse then how much of the past seven years had been true. He could be hating a man that didn't really exist.

_Who would do that?_

Dumbledore! Krai stated firmly, as Harry silently berated his brain for not waking up yet.

_Makes sense._Harry said. _So what are we going to do about it?_

For now gathering more information seems the best course of action.

Sorry I guess I'm just eager to meet the real Snape and see if he's anything like the one I've always known.

Yes but there's more at stake than that. Dumbledore obviously placed that curse on him for a reason and its also just as obvious that he's unaware the man is slowly fighting it and is having the odd moment under his own power. Drawing attention to that would lead Dumbledore to take further measures, to prevent whatever it is he's trying to stop from happening.

So we do nothing?

We have to! To do something now could create more problems. The most important thing is for you to forget your hatred of him and then hopefully when he has broken the curse further we can do something. And remember what I said last night and be careful around Remus, he is the dominant of their relationship and is agitated, he'll be able to sense the difference in his mate and as I believe they have not completed the bond he'll be just as protective and aggressive as you.

I'm going to fight my own Godfather.

No, you may fight him. Hopefully the love you share will be enough to dispel the anger but if not…

What?

Harry if you fight him…unless one of your subs stops you…you could kill each other.

I could kill Remus?

I won't let you. I'll do it myself.

WHAT?

Harry nothing is more important than keeping you alive. Werewolves have weakened immune systems, I could pump enough venom into his body to make it quick.

No!

Master…

No! If I am your Master then you will listen to me in this. If you bite anyone it'll be me, I know your venom won't kill me. It'll knock me out, ending the fight.

It is not as simple as that Master, whether you were unconscious or not he would still kill you and you would do the same to him. At least my way it wouldn't be you who did it.

Well I still won't let you. And anyway we were fine yesterday in class.

Yes you were, but it might not always be so.

Yeh, but hopefully there'll be another way to deal with it.

Blaise was a quiet slytherin, no one really understood his role within Slytherin house. Well no one apart from Draco that is. And last year surprisingly enough, Harry Potter.

His friendship with Harry had been an unexpected turn of events. He had always watched the Golden boy and un-like everyone else in his house had noticed a few things about him that just didn't add up. Of course Blaise had kept all of that to himself.

He wasn't foolish enough to upset the Golden boy.

That was Blaise's position in Slytherin house, to gather information and relay it to Draco, their leader. Effectively Blaise had become a traitor to his house the day he accepted Potter's help, he knew that Draco would have found an excuse for his behaviour, wanting to save his friend from their father's wrath. But if anyone had ever found out that he had helped Harry in turn…he'd have been hanging from the top of the Grand staircase within the hour. No one would have saved him, no Slytherin would have dared.

That was one thing that made having a friend outside your house so worth while, apart from the companionship, the understanding and the laughs there was the knowledge that yes, maybe this friend would stick their neck out to save you. Potter was a good guy, it had been the best thing he ever did, becoming his friend. He'd been shocked when Harry had given him the answer, but then again what did he have to lose. He'd left the library deep in thought and the next day had come to a decision, they'd got potions homework that day and Blaise knew that Harry often went to the library alone for an hour before dinner. That's what Blaise had been doing there the day before, he'd been following him, gathering information. He knew that potions wasn't Harry's best subject and sure enough there he was, head bent over some ponderous text. No one else was about, it was safe. He told Harry what he was looking for and where to look for it.

That day in the library all of the observations he had made about Harry Potter over the years had all clicked together to form a theory that was unshakable. Blaise had never told anyone about this and no one had ever figured out that Blaise was effectively a spy on his own house, after all it was Blaise's job to do that. That day Blaise had realised who the true power was and had swore his loyalty to Harry, since that day he had passed on everything that he could about the goings on in Slytherin. He'd never expected to like Harry as a friend. And as a friend he had often advised the golden boy but not on the one matter that he wanted to. That was something he hadn't dared bring up, Slytherins were famous for self preservation after all and he didn't fancy Potter testing out his power on him.

For years Blaise had watched Harry and Draco, watched how every single day the pair of them would gravitate towards each other and renew their constant rivalry. Every time they came together Blaise would have to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing. Anyone with half a brain could figure out that the two of them would end up together, he'd always thought that if Potter were a girl Draco would be pulling his pigtails and pushing him over in the playground.

But finally things were changing. Draco had come around to his way of thinking, he hadn't said as much but to a trained observer it was obvious. He'd noticed the glances between the two of them and knew what that heralded. He expected them to be together by the end of the week.

What he hadn't expected was for Draco to corner him last night.

_'I know what you've done Blaise.' Draco whispered. He then smirked at Blaise's dumbstruck expression. 'I've always known!'  
'How?'  
'A leader has to keep an eye on his men Blaise. You may be slytherin's spy but I'm supposed to be one step ahead of everybody.' He smiled. 'I also know that you know I am of the same opinion.' Blaise smirked, like true Slytherins they both knew exactly what the other was saying without giving too much away.  
'Yeh I knew.'  
'Good it makes thing so much easier.' Draco stated.  
'What your attraction to Potter?' _

Blaise smiled, seeing Draco's mouth fall open had been worth the shock Draco had given _him_ earlier. __

Then Draco had smiled. 'You are good aren't you Blaise, I didn't know it myself until yesterday.' Blaise just smirked at him.  
'I know more than that Draco, I know you want him and he wants you and your going to do something about it soon. And knowing Harry he'll turn the tables on you and scare you to death.'  
'What?'  
'The thought of intimacy makes you nervous Draco. It always has, not that I can blame you we all know the position your father intended you to take in Voldemort's ranks.'  
Draco shuddered.  
'Its taken me this long to break free of him Blaise. Why didn't you ever say anything?' Draco's voice was harsh but low, the pain at his possible future evident.  
'You are my best friend Draco, but your father is voldemorts right hand man. If you couldn't break free on your own you'd bring me down with you. I'm a Slytherin Draco, first and foremost in our minds is self preservation. That's the reason you couldn't break free from your father, it wasn't safe for you to do so. What made you do it?'

Draco was silent a moment as he thought over his answer.

'I don't really know what made me do it. I think it's something that's always been in my mind and until now I could ignore it, forget it was there. But something happened over the holidays…I met someone in Knockturn Alley, someone who didn't know my name. For once in my life I could be myself and no one could tell me it was wrong. We wrote letters to each other all summer, he had some of the same problems I did. I think by the end he'd convinced me to make my own way in the world and then he died and that's what finally pushed me to do it. He didn't get the chance to break away but I still had my chance.'  
'Sounds like the best thing that's ever happened to you.'  
'It was.' Then he smiled. 'For now.' Blaise snorted he was clearly thinking of Harry. 

Blaise smiled. Draco had shocked him last night but everything was out in the open now. Both him and Draco were on the same side again, now all they had to do was get the other Slytherin's on it too.

Draco Malfoy was not happy. All day yesterday he'd been catching glimpses of Harry and Draco hated to admit it, but the Golden boy made him hot and bothered. And not in the way he had done for the past six years. Harry Potter was gorgeous, powerful…then again he'd always been those things, it just hadn't been as obvious before. And now, Draco didn't know how it had happened but Harry was confident, sure of himself and secure in who he was. And that was one quality Harry had never had before.

He'd always been drawn to him in some way, from the first moment he saw him in Madam Malkin's in first year. He'd found himself putting on his best Malfoy drawl and bragging. And then finding out that that boy was 'the boy who lived' and that he was supposed to hate him…Draco had never felt so conflicted in his life. But then Weasley had to interfere and the nurtured dislike for the boys family had kicked in and Draco had ruined everything. He knew that now. But back then he had blamed the boy who spurned his friendship for 'a lesser wizard'. And then what followed were six years worth of hatred and petty fights…and underneath it all were _these_ feelings.

He felt weak when he thought of him. He'd been regretting his actions on the train for the whole day and he was regretting it even more now…watching Harry sitting at the Gryffindor table chatting with Weasley. He wanted to be over there. And maybe he would have been if he hadn't walked off and left Harry laying on the floor of the Hogwarts Express. He'd been scared.

He was going to talk to Harry, try and be friends again. But when he felt Harry beneath him, felt his fingers in his hair and smelled his scent…he just wanted to bury his head in Harry's neck.

That was something he'd never felt before and it had scared him. He'd convinced himself that he wanted to be friends with Harry and he did but…he wanted more than that. He'd thought he could do it…just be friends and see if Harry wanted to take it further. He wanted Harry, wanted to be sheltered in those strong arms…wanted Harry above him, inside him, everywhere. The talk with Blaise the night before had helped but he was still nervous.

He'd just have to see if Harry wanted him.

He didn't pay attention in lessons that day, he was too busy thinking about finding Harry. Having had no lessons with the Gryffindors today, he hadn't seen Harry since breakfast that morning, the idiot Gryffindor for some reason hadn't come to dinner. It was afternoon break now and he still couldn't find Harry anywhere. Being unable to hold it off any longer he headed to the boys bathroom to relieve some of his 'tension' and lo and behold who would be there but the idiot he'd been searching for. What had he done spent the whole day in the bathroom.

Harry was staring at him, he had this strange look in his eyes…like he was torn, he couldn't make his mind up what he wanted to do.

Harry for his part was dumbstruck, he'd been trying to avoid the blonde all day. Seeing Draco that morning had just reminded him of his actions the night before, the blonde looked tired and a little miserable and Harry wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around him and find out who had made his mate miserable.

'We have to stop meeting like this Harry.'

'Yeh…wait did you just call me Harry?' Harry said looking at Draco a little curiously.

The blonde boy was biting his lip a little bit and gave a slow nod. He looked cute.

It was strange but hearing _his_ name coming from Draco's lips broke something inside of Harry. Looking at Draco now, Harry had had enough, he wanted the blonde and he was going to get him.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N...I was wondering if anyone knew a good latin translator? I'm working on another fic and the internet translator I'm using is crap.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Makurayami Ookami

Skrybspryt

Lady K. Malfoy

Silvermane1

Katsy17

Chapter 22 Remedial Potions

Draco was worried now.

Harry was looking at him strangely.

Almost predatory…his eyes were shining with an intensity Draco had never seen in a human before. Harry took a step forward and he took one back.

Harry made him nervous.

Harry backed him up against the sink, his arms on either side blocking him in. His body was as far away from Harry's as he could possibly get it, which wasn't very far considering Harry's body was pressing into his. He could feel the heat of Harry's skin through their robes. He wanted to run his hands over Harry's back and press himself against the other man, he wanted Harry's scent on his body…that made him even more nervous.

Which was really stupid, five minutes ago he'd been looking for Harry intending to do the same thing and corner the brunette.

So what had changed now…was it the fact that he wasn't in control. No, every fantasy he'd had about the other man had involved him being dominated, giving up the control he'd always had.

Harry was watching him now with a small smile on his lips, how he wanted to kiss those lips.  
'I love watching you think.' Harry purred as he inched his face closer. 'When you drop your masks…' he went on, rubbing his hands up and down Draco's sides, making him shiver…'your eyes cloud over, you worry your bottom lip and you shake your head…slowly from side…' Harry kissed one cheek, 'to side.' And then he kissed the other, his neck arching gracefully like a snake. Draco was speechless, his thoughts silenced.

Harry passed his lips close to Draco's and sighed softly, his breath tickling…teasing. Draco reflexively brought his hands up to Harry's shoulders, grasping the soft robes he wore. Harry pressed his hips forward slightly causing Draco to gasp and throw his head back, exposing his throat to Harry's gaze.

Harry couldn't resist.

He leant forward and lightly ran his lips over Draco's creamy white skin. He smiled to himself when Draco's breath hitched. He trailed kisses up Draco's neck to his ear, parted his lips…inched his tongue past them to touch…to taste Draco's skin.

By then Draco's fears were gone, all thoughts were gone in fact. There was nothing left bar Harry's heat and his warm wet tongue lapping at the lobe of his ear. He turned his head to catch Harry's lips. Harry seemed to know what he wanted, the brunette shifted slightly, tucked a strand of blonde hair behind Draco's ear…traced his jaw line with _his_ fingers, he then brought his other hand up and…kissed him.

It was a slight brush of the lips first. They shared a glance, making sure it was ok with the other before tilting their heads and coming together again. It only took Harry a moment to plunder Draco's mouth and dominate the kiss. Draco happily tilted his head and opened himself to Harry's questing tongue. He surrendered completely, he didn't protest as Harrys hands dipped slightly to rest on his arse, he didn't protest when Harry ground their hips together…he just gasped. He didn't protest when Harry lifted him so that he was resting on the sink and parted his legs further. He welcomed Harry's touch…

The sounds of students passing broke them apart, heading to the last class of the day. They were both breathing heavily, Draco partially resting on the edge of the sink, his legs parted…Harry between them with his shirt un-tucked.

'We better go.' Harry mumbled looking down. Draco could only nod.  
'Listen…'Harry said suddenly. 'I've got Snape after dinner, 'remedial potions'…'  
Draco knew by the way he said it that there was more to it than that, he also knew somehow that Harry would explain it all to him. 'Usually done by ten…will you meet me on the seventh floor. Room of Requirement, where you caught the DA in fifth year.' Draco nodded, still unable to speak. Harry's smile was enough to make him melt, he wanted to kiss him again. 'We have a lot to talk about.'

'I'll see you tonight.' Harry said, smiling like an idiot as he backed towards the door.

Now Draco couldn't allow that, a Malfoy always had to have the last word. Draco couldn't help but laugh as he pushed past Harry and whispered in his ear.

'You'd better not be late.' As the door closed in front of him, Harry was in no doubt that Draco meant that. He started walking to charms, happy that he'd left his familiar with Ron while he popped to the loo, he could keep the moment to himself for now.

He may be happy over that but he was ecstatic over what had just happened, he was one step closer to Draco accepting him as his mate. Now, he just had to tell him everything.

000

It occurred to him later as he was walking towards the dungeons that from the moment Krai had told him that Draco was his mate…that he hadn't questioned it, denied it or anything. That just proved to him that what he felt for Draco was strong. This wasn't some trick or foolish idea, no this was real. Draco _was_ his mate.

Charms for once had been absolute hell he'd wanted nothing more than to get out of the class and get to 'remedial potions'.

Which was odd in itself.

Another odd thing was that he and Ron had been sat by themselves during charms, Hermione had been sat with Lavender and Parvati. He realised then that she had been sat with them during breakfast that morning and had gone off with them for break as well.

What the hell was going on?

000

One thing that Snape knew was that no one and he meant no one liked spending any extra time with him. Not even his Slytherins. So when he opened the door and found Harry Potter stood outside with a big smile on his face, Snape thought he'd slipped into a parallel universe somehow. Maybe some stupid students potion had blown up and sent him spiralling into another dimension. Snape shook his head, he'd obviously drunk a little too much fire whiskey at Dinner.

'Potter!' He barked satisfied as the boy jumped. 'Get in here.'  
'Now Potter, we know that we are both here because the headmaster wants me to teach you occlumency and we both know that you have a pronounced ineptitude for anything academic.' Harry just stared at him unable to believe what he was hearing. He'd been hoping for a nice Snape but he guessed that wasn't happening. 'Tell me Potter have you even been attempting to empty that already pretty empty head of yours before bed?'

Harry gritted his teeth and repeated in his head _'Snape is under imperio.' 'Snape is under imperio.'_  
'No Sir.' Snape gave him an evil smirk. 'Really Potter and how many dreams of the dark lord have you had?'

Harry thought back. 'Just the one Sir, just before the start of term I was staying at the burrow and saw his attack on Beauxbatons.' The moment Harry said it he realised how odd that was, he'd usually have a dream a night, or at least he had before his birthday. He'd had one each night he stayed in the Leaky Cauldron before his birthday and apart from the one at the Burrow hadn't had another one. He looked up at Snape to see the man staring at him. He was still staring at Snape when he heard the other shout _'Legilimens'. _

Harry didn't even have time to defend himself. But Harry didn't feel anything, no rush of memories or even a vague fluttering at the edge of his thoughts.

He wasn't even doing anything. A moment later, Snape lowered his wand.

He was smiling.

Only a slight smile but it was still a smile. 'Very good Potter. I don't know what you've done, but your mind is a fortified Keep.' That last bit although not phrased as one was clearly a question and Harry took it as one.

'I have no idea Professor. I don't know what happened. If I'm honest I didn't even realise that I hadn't had a dream or vision for ages.'  
'What other things were on your mind Potter, for you not to notice that?'  
Harry thought for a minute, he couldn't tell Snape about his familiar, not yet anyway not until the Professor broke the spell.  
'I'd rather not answer that Professor.' Snape just looked at him for a moment.  
'Very well Harry, as you don't seem to need any occlumency lessons. You are free to go. But come back next week. We need to make sure this isn't a fluke. So empty your mind each night.'  
'Yes sir.' Harry was almost to the door when he stopped and turned. 'Sir?'  
'Yes Harry?' Harry almost smiled, he hadn't imagined it then. 'I'm sorry!'

Harry didn't understand if this Snape would know what he meant, but the man gave him a half smile and a nod. Harry understood and nodded back, he was as good as forgiven.  
'Harry.' Snapes voice stopped him.  
'Yes Professor?' Snape motioned for him to step back into the room.  
'Dumbledore doesn't want me to tell you this, but I think you need to know.'  
'Sir?'  
'The Dark Lord is looking for you.'  
Harry laughed. 'That's nothing new Professor.'  
'No Harry.' He'd never seen Snape's expression so serious. 'You went to Diagon Alley on your own in the summer didn't you?' Harry nodded. 'Many death eaters saw you, Voldemort took the image out of their minds. He wants to find you Harry.'  
'Did he know it was me?' That was something he needed to know, if his worst enemy didn't recognise him, then how much impact was he really having on peoples lives.  
'I don't know.'  
'You don't know?'  
'He just ordered us to find you, he didn't say your name or anything else. Just said "find him", the thing is Harry…'  
'The next time you go to the Death eaters you'll have to tell him.'  
'Yes.' Harry thought for a moment.  
'Obviously if he knows who I am then he'll know I'm here and will be expecting a report. If he doesn't know its me then you cant keep it from him in case someone else tells him.' Snape nodded. 'Did anyone see you talking to me in Flourish and Blotts?'  
'No.'  
'Well that's something at least.' He looked up at Snape and smiled. 'Thank you Sir. I think that's the first time I've ever been told something when I needed to know it.'  
'You're welcome Harry.'  
Harry knew then and there that liking the new Snape would not be a problem, he just hoped that when this was all over, he'd be able to get to know the man.

000

He still had a good hour before he was supposed to meet Draco so Harry ran up to Gryffindor tower to tell Ron and Krai what had happened. When he got there he noticed that Hermione was again sitting with Lavender and Parvati. She didn't even look at him, whereas before she'd scold him for being out so late, bully him into doing his homework or ask him how his 'remedial potions' went.

He shook his head, they had to figure out what was going on there and soon.

He took Ron and Krai up to the boys dorms and told them all that had happened and about his realisation that he hadn't had a single vision since the one at the burrow.

_I wondered when you would realise Master._

You knew?

Yes

Why didn't you say anything?

It was one less worry from your mind, I wanted you to enjoy life without that worry. Now that you've remembered it you'll worry that one day it will all come back.

You made it possible didn't you? Somehow you did it.

You are a snake Harry you naturally have a strong mind…

You mean because I'm really a Slytherin?

Yes but your bloodline also.

Wait a minute Dumbledore isn't a Slytherin.

No Master he isn't but not all snakes are out in the open. You yourself are hiding.

You mean Dumbledore should have been in Slytherin like me?

No Master, I believe that the hat chooses not only by traits but by destinies as well.

Dumbledore was destined to be the light sides leader, even though he's a bastard.

Yes but you are to be its hero…its ru… Krai paused. _To prove that not all snakes are bad. _Harry paused for a moment, thinking. __

What did you do?

Nothing really Master, there are other ways to strengthen your mind. Have you noticed that we only speak mind to mind now?

Yes.

Well that is all I have done. Speaking to me this way not only strengthens our mind connection but our separate minds as well. Voldemort cannot reach your mind now.

Then how did I get the vision of Beauxbatons?

That's just it Harry it was a vision. Nothing more than that. You can have a vision without it having anything to do with Voldemort, although those are much rarer.

They lapsed into silence after that. Harry and Ron played a game of exploding snap while Harry waited for it to get closer to ten. At quarter to he made his excuses and left. He wanted to get there before Draco did.

000

Krai watched his Master go with thinly veiled amusement. His Master couldn't hide anything from him. When Harry had come back from the bathroom earlier that day, he had smelled the Malfoy boy on his Master. And he knew from the 'excited' smell his Master sported now, that he was going to see the blonde.

Krai understood his Master's need to keep this to himself. He also knew that Harry would tell him when he came back.

Krai didn't worry for his Master, he was strong. He didn't have to follow him.

Now that they had gotten settled in to the school and he had met his Master's mate, friends and seen some of his enemies, they could return to training. This weekend he would ask his Master to perform the animagus ritual and they could find out what animal he was.


	24. Chapter 24

I am really sorry how long this took but I promise to try and be more regular with my updates for it.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

satyr-oh...hopefully this chapter will answer your question. Thanks for reviewing.

Silvermane1

Skrybspryt

Fraewyn...Thankyou! So many people just didn't seem to get that without Krai Harry and Draco wouldn't have gotten together.

bluefire-elemental...Unfortunately the betrothal necklaces won't be in it for quite some time. So I can't really answer your questions, sorry. I don't like sad endings either but since I've started writing I've realised some things just have to end different than how you wanted. I mean I hated the fact that DH ended with two of my favourite characters dying but I was already expecting their deaths cos I thought it would fit with the plot best. Thanks for pointing out my grammar errors, its my worst thing so I'm always looking to improve. Unfortunately I've written a lot of this story already, I'm up to chapter 41 on one sight and I don't have the time at the moment to read through and correct it. I'm planning to do that when I finish it. Sit down and get rid of the crap, improve grammar and spellings and stuff. Sorry, but If you see anything else I need to sort out let me know. It helps with new stuff.

Makurayami Ookami

DestinyEntwinements

Raven Hufflepuff ...Thanks for the suggestions, unfortunately his creature blood has been chosen and I've already decided on his animagus form. But thank for the suggestions, I might try them in another fic.

WiCkEdLiTtLeReD...Thank you so much, you make me blush. I hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 23 The Room of Requirement

Harry made it to the room of requirement with plenty of time to spare, he had dropped all pretence and ran as fast as he could. It only took him a few moments to make it to the seventh floor, he took a moment to slow down his breathing before stepping up to the wall that hid the room of requirement. Whenever he let his creature blood take over, he felt real…natural, like he'd dropped a mask. It was funny that even though he'd took control of his life, he still wasn't being entirely himself. But he knew that in this case one of the skills he kept hidden could be the difference between life and death, both for him and his mate.  


Whenever he reverted to himself he had to take a moment to calm his mind and regulate his breathing back to human pace. It was something he'd noticed when he trained with Krai, the when he fought the slower and deeper the breaths. Krai told him it was a form of control, something that kept the instincts of the creature at bay and allowed his rational, human side to take control and use his heightened abilities to his advantage.

Snapping out of his thoughts he began to pace in front of the stretch of wall whilst chanting in his head…_I need a place where both my mate and I will feel comfortable. I need a place that only he can find, a place where no one can find us and no one can overhear._

After the third time he found himself facing a wooden door, just like any other none descript door in the castle. But this door wouldn't refuse to open or lead somewhere else on a different day, no this door just led to a room that held whatever you wanted.

He'd used the ROR many times since fifth year, it was his refuge from Dumbledore and the world and today hopefully, it would be more. It would be the room where he and Draco could start again.

000

Draco was a few minutes late, having been unable to shake off Pansy without Blaise's help. He arrived at the seventh floor and after a moments hesitation went through the door and found himself inside the Slytherin common room. Or at least as close to the Slytherin common room as you could get. Harry was reclining on an emerald green couch, his feet propped up on a small coffee table. Draco shook his head at the undignified position, a small smile on his lips, he wouldn't be Harry if he didn't act un-proper.

Harry was watching him as he took in the details of the room, he could see him out of the corner of his eye. He took in the sight of the man that had captured him.  
Harry's attitude was relaxed, yet there was a readiness to the set of his body and the easy way his hand rested at his side. He let his eyes sweep over Harry, the black jeans he wore were moulded to his skin, long gone were the baggy jeans and too large t-shirts. Harry was finally taking care of his appearance and maybe his life as well. Maybe that's why he'd changed so much.

'Hey.' Draco smiled.

Harry's answer was a sexy grin and a 'hey' of his own. Harry stood up and walked towards him, he stopped and held his hand out to him, gallantly. With a shy smile he took the outstretched hand. His knees went weak at the contact. Harry guided him to the couch, like a solicitous lover. His eyes fixed on his.

Harry made him feel so special.  


They sat at either end of the couch, facing each other still holding hands. Looking at Draco Harry almost forgot why he was there.

'I…'

Draco just smiled at him, looking absolutely bewitching. 'What is it you want to tell me Harry?'

'I've got many things to tell you.'

Draco smirked. 'Looks like were going to be here a while, hhhmmm.' He smiled at Harry mischievously. 'We should get more comfortable.' He took a firmer hold of Harry's hand and tugged the brunet down to lay across his body. Harry for his part got over his surprise at Draco's actions and snuggled down deeper between Draco and the back of the couch.

In all of their encounters so far Draco always did something to surprise him, if it wasn't the mischievous nature he displayed on the train, it was the shy, hesitant nature from the bathroom. Dimly he realised that every moment they had had so far, it was only two but hey, every moment they had had so far was in a bathroom. Maybe he should have asked the ROR for a bathroom, with a nice big tub…where he could strip Draco of all his prim and proper clothes from his body and feel Draco's silky skin against his as he washed him.

Ok getting off topic there.

He wrapped an arm around the blonde boy so that he wouldn't push him off the edge of the couch, before he began speaking. And unconsciously, to keep him from moving away once he started speaking.

'So what did you want to tell me Harry?' Draco asked again with a Cheshire cat type of grin on his face.

Harry groaned, where to start.

'Start at the beginning Harry.' Harry smiled at the perceptiveness of his mate.

'You may not like how this starts Draco.' Harry said warningly.  
The blonde was silent for a moment. 'I promise to listen Harry.'

'Don't judge me Draco, not until you hear the end.' Harry pleaded.  
'I promise.'

000

And so Harry told him everything, he started from the beginning and talked about his life with the Dursley's, how everything had changed when he came to Hogwarts. That first time the two of them had met, his fears of Slytherin…of being a freak and the decisions he had made over the last seven years. He told Draco of meeting his Godfathers for the first time, the betrayal of his parent's friend, Peter Pettigrew.

Draco was silent through it all, he held his hand and gently massaged his fingers, offering comfort while Harry whispered in a broken voice the details of his time in the graveyard. He kissed Harry's cheek when his breath caught talking about Sirius.

Harry rushed through the events of sixth year, Draco already knew much of that, how Harry had uncovered Slughorn as a traitor, a spy…a deatheater that even Snape didn't know about, saving the mans cover as spy for the light and increasing Voldemorts trust in him, allowing Snape to bring them even more information. How he and Remus had grown closer and how Harry had come to think more of him in that time than anyone else. He'd never gotten the time to know Sirius, but talking to Remus…he was able to get to know both of them.

Harry talked about the events of his summer, how the Dursleys had behaved even worse to him knowing that he was leaving. He talked about his decision to leave them early, his stay at the Leaky Cauldron…he glossed over his shopping trip and came to the point that he didn't want to tell Draco about. Draco felt his pause and squeezed his fingers in reassurance.

Harry hesitated over how to begin, then pushing his fear aside, he ploughed on and told Draco everything. Draco's hand stopped moving over his when he talked of their meeting in Knockturn Alley. But he never said anything.

He told Draco what he had thought that day, how he had seen the real him. He told Draco about meeting Krai for the first time, the feelings that had shot through him when he first touched the snakes skin. At this Draco had smiled and asked…  
'Should I be jealous?'  
Harry just shook his head and carried on. He spoke of his summer at Potter Manor, the discoveries he made, the changes he went through and the changing feelings he had felt for the blonde boy next to him.

When he had talked about this Draco's fingers went back to stroking his hands. He told Draco of what he and Krai had learnt about him and what Krai had told him the other night, that Draco was his mate.

000

Draco for his part was biting his lip to keep quiet but there was one thing he wanted to know. He wanted to know about the letters he'd received, he wouldn't think about anything else until he knew.

'And the letters?' he asked, his voice carefully devoid of emotion.

'What letters?' the confusion Harry felt was apparent in his voice.

'Remember when we parted in Knockturn, I asked you to write to me.'

Harry sighed. 'I know Draco, I'm sorry I never did. I thought about it often but I couldn't do it, it wouldn't have been right. Pretending to be someone else. And I thought if I wrote as myself, you wouldn't answer.'

Draco was speechless for a moment.

'Well if you didn't write them then who did?'

'What do you mean Draco?'

'Harry if you were the 'Aidan' I met in Knockturn Alley, then…you've been writing to me for the last month.'

'What!' Harry exclaimed 'I haven't…I…'

'You didn't write any letters to me?'

'No.'

They were both silent for a moment, then understanding dawned.

'I think you will have to have a talk with my familiar.' Harry stated. The firm, authoritative tone to his voice sent a shiver down Draco's spine. Harry went silent for a moment, in which Draco instinctively knew that he was contacting his familiar.

'He's coming up.'

Harry was looking away from him now, Draco knew the other was nervous over his reaction.

He pulled the other boy to him, wanting to protect his mate, _his mate_.

He was silent for a moment as he thought over what to say.

'Harry your familiar did something good for me, I don't really care how he did it.' He began intending to reassure Harry, but the moment he started he knew it was true. Krai had done something wonderful for him, he'd made all this possible. 'He freed me from my father and a future that still scares me even now. His writing to me made my life better Harry, although I wouldn't mind knowing why he let me think that you…that Aidan had died.' At Harry's 

questioning look, he elaborated. 'His last letter said that he was going to Beauxbatons, it arrived the day after the attack on the school.'

'I had a vision of it, he must have written to you the moment after it happened.' Harry winced.

'I'm not angry Harry, I'm quite happy. I intended to come and talk to you this year, try and be friends, you know. And I think we would have been…and maybe we'd have found all this out on our own, but we sure as hell wouldn't have done it as quick as this. And for that I'm thankful.' He said that last as he leaned over to capture Harry's lips.

Harry didn't respond for a moment, but the feel of Draco's lips on his own soon eased his fears. He dominated the kiss just like Draco wanted him to. The blonde smiled into the kiss as Harry wound his arms around him possessively. Their kiss wasn't like the others that they had shared, Harry's lips were possessive and claiming. His fear that Draco would possibly reject him over his familiars actions spurring him on, to show his submissive just how strong he was.

Draco allowed Harry to push him back against the couch, his concentration only on the man pressed against him. Harry broke their kiss and stared into Draco's passion clouded eyes…he began to kiss and nibble his way down Draco's throat. He nipped the skin causing Draco's body to arch into his. Harry marvelled at the reaction he was getting from his love, Malfoys were so refined and reserved…to see Dracos face flush, his eyes close in pleasure and to be the cause…he shivered, it made him feel so powerful.

Slowly he undid the buttons of Draco's robes and trailed his lips down to his mate's collarbone, sucking the flesh and biting…leaving a mark, his mark. To tell other dominants that this submissive was off limits.

He felt Krai's presence outside the door, reigning in his anger at the interruption…he had asked Krai to come after all. He pulled away from Draco reluctantly.

'Krai is outside I believe he has some explaining to do.' Draco nodded. Harry allowed Krai inside. The snake looked from one to the other with an expression Harry knew to mean his familiar was happy.

_I owe you an apology Master Draco._

000

After Krai had left Harry reflected on their conversation. The fact that his familiar could speak to Draco's mind through the bond that they shared, was interesting and also very useful. He'd be able to speak to Draco, even when they couldn't be together.

Harry had read enough about bonds to know that the mind link that he and Krai shared would come to him and Draco in time, but not until they became one. In these few hours in the room of requirement Harry had gained an understanding of his mate, how he did not know. He knew that his mate wanted him, but he knew that there was something inhibiting his mate. Something that was keeping him from giving himself fully to the dominant. This did not bother him at all, he didn't know what it was that made Draco nervous but he knew his mate would overcome it himself, given time.

And that was the way Harry wanted it.

He was extremely content with the kisses and the touches that he could give Draco for now. He wanted his mate completely willing and call him an old-fashioned romantic but he wanted the time to get to know the Draco he had missed out on for so long. There was no rule saying that a dominant and submissive must join together immediately. And he intended to take advantage of that. He wanted to woo his mate…show him how good their lives together would be.

Draco was curled up next to him now, his hand caressing Harry's flat stomach…he hated to admit it but making him purr like a cat.

Draco loved the sounds Harry made when he touched him, a cross between a purr and a hiss. He wanted to know Harry better. He knew Harry was his mate, Harry had told him so. Draco had grown up knowing all about people with creature blood, he also knew that the Malfoy line contained some blood though it had never manifested before. So he had grown up with the knowledge of creatures in case anything ever happened. The possibility of having or being a mate had always in some ways angered him. It was just another thing he didn't have control over, but at the back of his mind he had always been happy about it.

Being someone's mate, meant you had found the one person in the world that could make you completely happy. A person that complimented you exactly…a person with whom you could merge…meld not only your bodies, but your mind, your soul and most importantly your magic. Magic was the most important thing in the world for a witch or wizard and being with somebody who's magic was too weak or too strong, or didn't compliment you…you'd never feel right. Every moment you spent together would just be wrong. Having a mate meant you never had to search through the thousands of wizards in the world.

He now knew exactly how powerful Harry was. The creature bloods he had were unbelievable and they all seemed in agreement that _he_ was the perfect mate. But according to Harry the bond between them was more. They were mates but in more ways than one. Harry's creature blood needed a mate and it had selected him. But there was another bond between them, a stronger bond than the mate bond. The bond of two mates was love it was that simple, love between two people that were perfect for each other. The other bond was something so rare he couldn't believe it had happened to him.

He may not like that it was another thing he had no choice in. But it was something he had wished for more than anything, after all his other option didn't bare thinking about. Now sitting across from Harry, he knew that the other man could make him happy and he could do the same for him. But unfortunately one thing that Draco knew from experience was that in the end not everything worked

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A/N...So please if you've read, review too. What did you think of Draco's reaction to the whole Aidan thing? Do you think it was 'just right' or do you think he'd have kicked up a fuss and yelled his head off. But keep in mind, he is in the presence of his mate…maybe that affected his behaviour!


	25. Chapter 25

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm thinking of replying directly to reviews instead of posting them in the chapter. So unless theres anything that needs to be said to everyone I'll reply to your reviews directly.

Silvermane1

baka egyptian

satyr-oh

skrybspryt

Raven Hufflepuff

CHEEKY-HERMONIE

Eloisa Skywalker...Thank you I'm so glad you think that.

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This chapter is only short. I had exams when I wrote it, so I'll be posting the next one in a couple of days to make up for it.

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Chapter 24: A Decision to Make

They spent several hours in the ROR. It was the early hours when they finally left. So late in fact that they had even missed the last patrol of the night, both Snape and Filch would be gone back to their rooms by now and dead to the world. Filch with his hand groping for the cat who always slipped out to go hunting mice in the dungeons around a certain potion masters door. And Snape…Severus who slept fitfully, his dreams filled with images of his life. Many of which he had forgotten about until then.

Fighting imperio took a toll on the body, it had to be shown in some way. And Severus who couldn't afford to allow that, only let down his guard when he slept.

And suffered for it.

But a pepper-up potion and a concealment charm could do wonders when applied after a cold shower.

Draco slipped silently back into his dorm, levitating Blaise along with him. He'd found the other boy with his head lolled back, on a couch in the common room where he'd obviously waited up for his friend. After laying Blaise on his bed, Draco went to his own and while he stripped he thought about everything he had heard that night and the words Harry had spoken just before they left.

_'Draco listen... I want you to think about this. Sssshhh, no I mean it. Everything I've told you tonight, it's a lot to take in. And I don't want you to be with me just because I've told you we're mates. I want you to want me, to come to me willingly. I want you to think about everything I told you…to really think about it. Because this…Draco it isn't a momentary thing. This is forever. And I want you to be happy. If it takes time I'm willing to wait. A lot has happened to us both and there might be a lot to get over. I want to be your mate Draco Malfoy, I want to be yours and I want you to be mine. I want to see the years pass with you, see you with child. Our children, our family…good friends around us, you and me together until we die. There's a lot to think about with this Draco, I want you to sleep on this.'_

Draco could only nod. _'Can I see you tomorrow?'_

The smile he received would haunt his dreams that night. _'Of course.'_

_'Here?'_

_'Mmmmhhhmmm,'_ Harry smiled._ 'After dinner.'_

He had then wished him goodnight, his words soft and tender…he'd kissed his hand and then his lips, the kiss was light and sweet. Not dominating as it had always been before.

But it had been a kiss that had left his lips tingling for ages afterwards.

Draco closed the drapes around his bed and tried to close his eyes, but he was wide awake. Of course the snoring of Crabbe and Goyle didn't help much. Exasperated he cast a silencing charm and a privacy ward.

He thought about everything from that night, a smile upon his lips. And when he got to their goodbye kiss he relived it.

The soft caress of Harry's fingers at his side, his grip firming for a moment before he pulled away. But in his mind Harry didn't pull away. In his mind Draco snaked his arms around Harry's neck holding him in place, his fingers threading through Harry's hair making him gasp. He took advantage of that opened mouth, his tongue sliding in to taste.

Harry's tongue meeting his, driving his own back into his mouth even as the other backed his body back into the room.

The room was changing to meet their needs. Being pushed back onto a soft bed, Harry climbing on top of him.

He was lying on his back on a bed of emerald silk sheets, Harry hovering over him. His mouth descending on his to steal his breath, a hand caressing his erection through his trousers, making him arch up and moan into their kiss. Harry's growl, such an erotic sound as he lifted him and placed his head upon the pillows. The mouth leaving his, and travelling down his neck, nipping and sucking and the word _'mine'_ growled over and over again.

His body shivering and aching as Harry undressed him. His slightly calloused fingers running over every piece of flesh, mapping him out…claiming every inch. Warm wet lips around his nipple, his tongue teasing, his lips pulling, hardening the flesh. A wet trail down his stomach, Harry's warm breath ghosting over the line, making him shiver even more.

Hands at his belt buckle, teasing, stroking…pulling the zip down, agonizingly slow. A large hand slipping inside to cup his boxers covered erection. Hands at his waist pulling his trousers down to his ankles. A body between his legs, parting them, holding them open and a whispered spell. Cool air hitting his erection. His cock free, inches from Harry's lips. He almost comes at the site of Harry licking his lips.

A hot mouth descending on him, lips firm around his shaft, his tongue tracing the vein. The sight of Harry's glorious head bobbing up and down in his lap. His hands fisting in the sheets, the sudden building up of pressure…

'Harry!' a gasped cry and Draco came.

Draco had enough energy left to cast a quick scourgify before falling into a blissful sleep, with a smile on his face and a decision easily made.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N... Hi everyone, I'm so sorry it took so long to update this but I've been having trouble with the internet. Recently this went so far as to prevent me going on any websites so I couldnt even reply to any reviews. I've read them all though and thought I'd better post this chapter before I replied to anybody. I have a couple of hundred emails built up so it may take awhile, but i will reply to everyone.

So thank you all for you all for your wonderful comments and I will reply to them. Hope you like this chapter as much as the last.

Again this isnt the longest chapter, but there are some really long ones coming up and it'll get a lot more interesting...

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Chapter 25: A Decision Made

Harry Potter was not by nature a nervous person, but this morning when he woke up you'd never have thought so. Harry Potter was nervous and it showed.

But not everyone was perceptive enough to realize it. Only Krai knew that Harry was anxious, wanting to know his mates decision. Krai of course found this quite funny, a snake didn't feel nervous. A snake had few feelings but what feelings they had were always strong. And that was how he knew that his Master had no reason to be nervous. His Master's mate was a definite snake.

They were walking towards breakfast, well, Harry was walking, Krai was riding. Anyway they were walking towards the Great Hall for Breakfast, not too late considering Harry's long night, when they both sensed it. Harry began walking faster towards the alcove where he knew his mate was waiting. Krai slipped off of his Master's shoulders and headed down to the Great Hall, he could curl up in his Master's friends lap and beg some dead meat.

Harry hadn't even notice his familiars disappearance. He was too intent on reaching Draco. The moment he reached the blondes hiding place a hand snaked out and pulled him into the alcove with him.

Harry was flush against Draco's chest, the blonde was holding him tightly. As reluctant as he was to break the silence, he had to know.  
'Have…have you made your decision?' He asked his voice muffled by Draco's chest.  
Draco chuckled.  
'Do you know what I did last night Harry?' he whispered.  
'No.'

'Hhmmm, well after putting Blaise to bed like a bloody babysitter…I thought about you. And I trailed my hand down my body, just like this.' Draco trailed his hand up and down Harry's sides. 'I stripped myself slowly imagining it was you doing it.' He slipped his hands beneath Harry's robes to lay them on his stomach.

'I brought my fingers up and tweaked my nipples, imagining it was you doing it to me.' Again his hands mirrored his words. 'Do you know how my little fantasy ended Harry?' Harry gasped, Draco was teasing him so much.

Harry just shook his head unable to speak.  
'I came explosively in your mouth!' Harry couldn't stand it anymore. He crushed his lips to Draco's pushing the blonde back against the wall. He broke the kiss only when they needed to breathe, but instead of stopping he attacked Draco's neck. He kissed, licked, sucked and bit, marking Draco as his. Draco's hands pulled him closer and ground their erections together, his hands slipped beneath Harry's robes and shirt, his nails clawing his skin.

Harry pinned the blonde against the wall, smirking when he felt the blonde's obvious erection against him. _That must have been one hell of a dream!_ he mused.

His mate was so beautiful like this, in his arms, his face flushed with tented robes. There was so much that he wanted to do to that delicious body, especially the treasure between his mate's legs. The fact that they couldn't do any of that now, entered his mind. Even if Ron knew, well had an idea what he was doing the other boys wouldn't. They'd come up here looking for him, dragging Ron along with them. And while he had no doubt that Ron didn't mind about Draco being his mate, he knew walking in on something would make the red head extremely uncomfortable.

But there were some things they could do.

Looking back to his mate, he saw the hesitance in Draco's eyes, he'd taken too long pondering and now his mate was worried. He smiled and began running his hands up and down his mates side, trying to soothe him. Draco clung to him almost desperately, pushing their groins together, causing them both to moan. Nothing mattered anymore. He didn't want to please himself; the need to please his mate was stronger than any need of his own. He ground his hips forward, rubbing his cock against Draco's. He started kissing him again, soft and sweet in counterpoint to his thrusts. He wanted to love Draco, to show him how happy he was that Draco wanted him. He wanted to cherish the blonde. Prove to him he was loved.

The sounds Draco made when they touched set his skin aflame. His kisses became more desperate and heated, Draco responded in kind. When his mate curled his fingers in _his_ long hair and tugged, he lost control. He slammed Draco into the wall, the blonde let out a pained moan before returning to their kiss. Harry reached down and picked up one of Draco's legs to give him better access to _his_ Draco. Each thrust of his hips made Draco mewl prettily. And he soon found himself addicted to the sounds. His thrusts became more erratic, their kisses more hungry.

They came together loudly.

And Harry placed light kisses on Draco's jaw and trailed his lips down Draco's neck, before pulling back slightly to look him in the eye. Draco's head was resting on the wall, his hair falling over his faces, his eyes closed, his breathing fast and shallow. Draco had been beautiful before, but now, seeing him like this, Harry knew that wherever he went in this world he would never find anyone like him. He might glance at someone and think them beautiful, but his eyes would never rest on them with interest. His appraisal would forever be dispassionate unless it involved the man before him. No one could ever compare to Draco in his eyes. And he knew with certainty that he would die without the blonde.

Draco was human, that wasn't a bad thing but in so many ways it made him both weaker and stronger than Harry. Draco's body was so much easier to break than his. But the body could always be strengthened. Harry was changing, becoming a predator, his body was strengthening but he was losing something, something important to every human.

It didn't actually come from the best source but Dumbledore had told him that his ability to feel was one of his greatest strengths. Well now Draco would always be so much stronger than him because any type of emotion would from now on come to Draco much easier than it ever would to Harry.

Unless it was to do with Draco. His love for the blonde and his need to protect him would remain strong, but everything else was slowly leaving him. He knew he would still feel, but never as intensely as he had before. As the months passed his anger would come less and less often and so would everything else. He would still care but he would be more dispassionate, more predatory…distant. He would still have friends and would still care about them, but whereas before he had always run head first into dangerous situations, now he would hang back and plan.

It felt like he'd lost a part of himself.

All he could do was hope that his friendship with Ron wouldn't suffer for it.

He glanced around, belatedly realizing they should have put up silencing charms. Luckily for them no one had come back up to Gryffindor tower for something they'd forgotten, which was quite unusual for Neville. But anyway, after they'd come back down to earth, Harry cast a quick scurgify and wrapped his arms more firmly about the blondes waist and leaned his head on his mates shoulder, savouring his scent and the sight of the mark that he had just given him.  
'Harry?' Draco gasped.  
'Hhhhmmm?'  
'Did you just use wandless magic?'  
'Yeh, Krai taught me. It's no big deal.'  
'No big deal? No big deal? Harry only you could say that was no big deal.' Harry decided to change the subject, there were better subjects to discuss in the ten minutes left before lessons.

'You know that was a hell of a way to answer my question.'  
'Hhhhmmm, I thought so too.' He said cuddling closer to Harry. 'I'm yours Harry. And you're mine.'  
They shared a gentle kiss before reluctantly parting.  
'What are we going to do Harry? Should we let everybody know or are we going to keep this secret?' Earlier Harry might have misconstrued this and thought it rejection. But now that he had marked Draco as his…he didn't have to be so worried.

'For now, we should hide it.'  
'You don't want them to know?' Draco's voice was quiet and he found himself comforting the blonde again.  
'I don't want to. But if people knew you were mine, it would put you in danger, not just from the dark.'  
'Dumbledore?' Harry nodded.  
'It pains me more than you can imagine, knowing that I'll have to cover up that mark I just gave you. I want to lead you into the Great Hall, my arm around your waist…showing all of them that mark. Seeing their faces when they know what it means…' He stepped closer to the blonde again and kissed him again, his lips demanding. Draco arched into him and moaned. Satisfied he broke their kiss. 'That _you_…' he punctuated his words with soft kisses from Draco's jaw to his ear. '…are _mine_.'  
'Yours.' Draco whispered, his hands threading in Harry's hair again.

Harry growled and attacked Draco's neck again with a vengeance. Draco sighed, opening himself more to Harry's touch. Sounds in the corridor broke Harry's concentration. He pulled away listening. They were far away, not coming this way. He relaxed and turned back to the blonde.

'We have to stop.'  
Draco looked crestfallen for a moment before the Malfoy mask fell into place.  
'I didn't mean that I wanted it to end love. Breakfast has ended. We need to get to classes everything must remain as normal as possible.' He stepped closer, placing his hands on the blonde's hips. 'We are going to go to our classes, get through the day. And the moment dinner ends I want you in the room of requirement where I can have you in my arms.' He wiped away the blonde's tears with his thumb before kissing him softly. 'I will never, not want to be with you. But I won't have people hurting you because you're with me. I couldn't handle that Draco. And if I did something, Dumbledore would have the perfect excuse to get rid of me. I don't know if that's what he wants but there is something. He's planning it, I know it. And how can I protect you if I'm not here.'

Draco just nodded and wrapped his arms tighter around Harry.  
'We have so many enemies!' Harry stated. 'And we have to beat them. Only then can we be together without fear of something killing us.'  
'What about this curse?'  
'I don't know. It's before our time, before anyone's time really. I don't see how we can ask anybody for help on this one. We'll just have to try figuring it out on our own.' He thought for a moment.

'Have you ever wondered what the Chamber of Secrets is like?'

'I can't believe I'm in a bloody girl's bathroom.' Draco exclaimed.  
'Just be glad Moaning Myrtle isn't here.' Harry commented.  
Draco just looked at him non-plussed. 'Harry who's moaning Myrtle?' he asked.  
'Crying ghost, who was killed by the basilisk that lived in the chamber. And she fancies me.' Harry added. It was obvious that the last bit of information was the part that worried him the most. Draco just kept his mouth shut.

He couldn't believe what he was about to do. His family had been telling him stories for years about the chamber and here he was going down there. Well at least the monster was dead this time. He still couldn't believe Harry had killed a damned basilisk when he was only twelve, no wonder he couldn't beat the git at anything.

'Tell me why we are gong down here again?'

Harry was examining one of the taps at the sink. Even though Harry had told him he still couldn't believe that _this_ was the legendary opening to the dreaded Chamber of Secrets. 'Because this is the only place I know of that was created by Salazar Slytherin, hopefully if there's any information on this curse it'll be down here.'

_Well that makes sense._ Draco thought.

Even though he'd been expecting it the hisses caught him by surprise. He hadn't heard the sounds since second year. Harry didn't even speak to Krai in parceltongue. Anyway the sound was unnerving coming from a human mouth. But when it was combined with Harry's new look, his new demeanour, it added a power to him that had been lacking before.

It made him dangerous.

The sounds themselves were odd but he could definitely get used to them. When he spoke the words Harry arched his body and almost swayed slightly with the sounds. The effect the words had on the body that spoke them made up for the sound of the freaky hisses.

He couldn't believe he was in a dingy little bathroom watching Harry converse with a bloody tap and it was turning him on! But who wouldn't be turned on by such a sight. It had only lasted for a moment but it was forever imprinted on his mind. It made him actually want to go into the chamber, he knew there would be many more opportunities to watch Harry's hips sway. The hisses if you didn't focus on them too clearly could almost sound like gasps of pleasure.

The movement of the sink distracted him. He stepped up beside Harry and found himself looking at a slime covered pipe.  
'No Harry, no way am I going down there.' He shook his head.  
'Oh come on Draco it'll be worth it.' Draco wasn't convinced. 'I'll make it up to you.' Harry said, his voice coming out as a purr.  
He took another look down the pipe, sighed and gave a still some what reluctant nod. The smile Harry gave him was almost worth it.

'I'll go first.' Harry said stepping up to the edge. The pipe looked a lot smaller than it did the last time he used it. Then again he had grown up a bit.

'Follow me in a few seconds. It'll give me chance to get clear when I land.' Without waiting for Draco's answer Harry stepped off the edge with his arms crossed over his chest.

A moment later, Draco reluctantly followed him.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N…the description of the chamber and the basilisk below are from the Chamber of Secrets book, not the film. So keep that in mind when reading this.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed… I'm sorry it took so long to update, I've been having a lot of computer problems recently.

Chapter 26: The Chamber of Secrets

Unlike the last time he was here, Harry was actually ready for the end of the pipe. Instead of flying out of the end like he did the last time, he used a quick cushioning charm to 'cushion' his fall. Of course he did the same for Draco when he came flying out of the end of the pipe. And if he made sure Draco's 'cushion' was softer than his own, who would know!

Draco in true Malfoy fashion, stood, dusted off his robes and looked around with clear distaste.  
'So this is the Chamber of Secrets?'  
Harry laughed silently to himself over his mate's behaviour.  
'No Draco this is not the Chamber of Secrets, this is just the exit that the basilisk used to use.'

Draco kicked at the bones beneath his feet, no doubt trying to see if there was a clear pathway beneath them. When he found that there wasn't, he huffed.

He should have known that the bones of little animals wouldn't have fazed his mate; after all with Lucius Malfoy as a Father he'd probably seen plenty of worse sites than that. And he had heard that the Malfoy Manor had dungeons, so maybe he was used to skeletons.

'If this is the snake's personal doorway, then why didn't we use the one Salazar Slytherin used?' Draco asked, a little exasperated with his mate for making him go through all that when they could have used a door.  
'Hhhmm, we could, but I don't actually know where it is!' I was planning to look for it while we were down here. I didn't really have much time to look around the last time I was here.' Harry mused, lost in a few memories.

'Sorry Harry.' Draco said. 'I got a bit knocked up on the way down and was a little pissed off that I could have gone through a real door instead of a slimy tunnel.'  
'No problem love.' Harry replied, putting his arm around the blonde's shoulders and leading him off down the tunnel. He smiled a little bit while he did so, Draco wouldn't be Draco if he didn't whine and complain a little.

00000

They made it to the Chamber without incident. Harry only stopping once to point out where the length of shed snake skin had been the last time he was here. A few little scraps remained but most of it had been eaten by the creatures that lived down here. The ones the basilisk had fed off of for so long, kind of fitting really that it would feed them now.

He didn't mind snakes; in fact he quite liked them. That was obviously the Slytherin part of him as most of the other Gryffindors hated snakes and no matter how many times he told them that snakes weren't slimy, they wouldn't believe him.

But even to him the basilisk had been a horrible creature. It wasn't even beautifully patterned like most snakes were. It certainly was nothing like Krai.

A wall stood before him, a carving of two entwined serpents at its centre. He felt Draco tremble a little beside him and ran his hand over the blonde's shoulders soothingly. For him, coming back wasn't as hard as he'd thought it would be. But for Draco, seeing all this for the first time after hearing all of the horror stories of his youth and being here in second year when the attacks were occurring, well it had to be unnerving for him.

He stepped up to the snakes and for some reason, felt like he'd come home.

He ran his hands lovingly down the fronts of both snakes and watched as the inset emeralds that had made the snakes seem so real the last time, came alive again. If he didn't know there were no torches around he would have sworn there were flames flickering within their depths and that the sounds that he could hear sounded suspiciously like snakes hissing, were in fact nothing more than a gentle breeze travelling through the bones of long dead creatures.

Yes just like last time, if he didn't know better he'd say these snakes were alive. Choosing to ignore the feeling just like he had before, he spoke to them.

**~Open~**

They parted for him swiftly, seemingly eager to allow him entrance. While the rest of the wall slid apart, they coiled up at either end, their eyes' seemed to follow both of them as they passed to enter the Chamber.

They both stopped short, staring at the scene before them.

Well it was obvious that the creatures that lived down here did not have access to the Chamber, as it was clear that the basilisk was as intact as he had left it almost five years ago. He walked forward slowly, barely aware of Draco keeping close to his side, as he stepped up to the thing that had given him such problems so long ago.

And he felt pity.

It was only an animal after all, a snake just like Krai. Uglier yes but no less important to the world and here it had remained for centuries confined and made to do the bidding of wizards. And it was then that he realized something, he had been so afraid of the thing and so focused on finding Ginny that he hadn't even tried to speak to the snake. He had just taken Riddle at his word, that the snake wouldn't obey only him, because Riddle was 'Slytherin's heir'.

He laughed.

He himself was Slytherin's heir, like so many had feared. But would they fear Salazar Slytherin now so much if they knew what he knew.

What would have happened if he'd tried to speak to the snake? Would it have stopped trying to kill him and then obeyed him, would it have still been alive now. Blinded but alive, here to welcome him back to the Chamber.

He did feel sorry for it.

Was it the snake's fault that it was being used by the Dark Lord, just like so many other people had been used before it? It had done nothing different than the thousands of others the Dark Lord controlled, followed orders. But whereas his Deatheaters made the choice to serve him, the Basilisk had been forced.

He shook his head to clear the tears that had built up in his eyes at the memory of that night. Ginny had nearly died. Ginny had nearly died. He repeated it over and over to himself. And it was true but the snake had not been to blame for that. That had been Riddle. All Riddle. He looked back at the basilisk again, trying to see it as just another snake and not the creature that had terrified him and his classmates. He remembered the year…he remembered hearing the snake repeating its orders over and over again in its head. It was obvious that the poor creature was created to be a follower and not a thinker.

Either way it didn't matter both the snake and Riddle were long dead now, only Voldemort remained.

But what to do with the body? Should he just leave it there? Well he didn't really have much choice what else could he do?

The nature of the Chamber was preserving the body. He realized it now. The air was always perfect, the temperature fluctuated and no air from outside seeped in. there were no drafts, there was no hiss of air filling the chamber. Nothing, it was all silence, the water that covered the ground outside was not present in here. The air was devoid of its humidity. But what was the purpose of it? What was the reasoning behind it?

Why the basilisk in the first place?

It didn't fit with his new image of Salazar Slytherin, his ancestor a man who loved another and was forced to hide his love behind hatred, much like he and Draco had since the day they met. A man not what he seemed.

The hat had said Slytherin's animosity with Gryffindor was all an act. So if Slytherin was not really an evil bastard then why did he have a basilisk, to 'purge the school of all those unfit to study magic', all the muggleborns and half bloods. It didn't make sense.

And if it were true then why would he leave without instigating the plan. The Chamber had to have another purpose, to be here for another reason.

Did Salazar hope that through his leaving, all those left in the school would forget both him and the Chamber? I mean why go to such pains to hide it, unless it wasn't to be used. Wouldn't he want anyone who thought as he did to have easy access to the Chamber so that they could continue his work?

The answer was, obviously not.

The Chamber had been hidden (In a girls bathroom?), its existence a mere rumour for centuries. The only people able to access it: Salazar and his descendents.

Wait, didn't the hat say that Slytherin took away the descendent birthed by his own body. Now why would he take one child and not the other, the one birthed by Gryffindor? Unless, that child was not able to speak parceltongue.

That had to be it.  
Salazar removed both himself and his son/daughter from the school. And it was centuries before a descendent came back to the school. Was that descendent able to speak parceltongue? He'd have to ask the hat that. And he didn't know if he'd be able to do so. The hat never left Dumbledore's office.

There had to be something here. Some purpose that would make all of those precautions necessary. I mean, it all made sense. Even if a descendent of his got this far and was able to open the Chamber, there was still a basilisk inside and no matter who you were, if you met its eye you'd die. What was so important about this place that he would build it so far beneath Hogwarts, only allow parceltongues entrance and then make them face a basilisk, what was it all for? What was worth all of that trouble?

Harry looked around trying to see anything, anything out of the ordinary. Baring of course the luminous green snake, he could see nothing. He sighed and turned back to Draco.

The blonde had been watching him for the last few minutes while he thought. Seeing Harry's attention back on him he went over and gave the brunet a hug.  
'Is being back here horrible, are you reliving everything?' he whispered.  
'No actually, it's surprising how easy it is for me to come back here.'  
'Seeing that…that thing; didn't bring back any painful memories. I find it hard to believe, if it were me I'd have never come back down here.'  
'You're a Slytherin, all about self-preservation and the continuation of your line; you'd have never come down here in the…first…place…THAT'S IT!'

Draco had stepped back at Harry's yell, which reverberated around the room and echoed strangely. Harry turned to him with a strange intense light in his eye.  
'Listen, why would Slytherin create all of this if he was essentially a nice person and had no real intention of setting it on the muggleborns. If he thought that way he'd have done so while he was still in residence at the school, why didn't he? What's the reason behind it? The two most important things to a Slytherin are self-preservation and…' he paused, waiting for Draco to make the catch up.

'Family!'

'Correct love. There can't be any other reason. He wouldn't go to such trouble for any other reason. I mean he was the first Slytherin! Any traits you lot have he had first, or you'd never have been put in his house in the first place. So what was he hiding, what was he protecting, why did he need all of this?' Harry almost demanded an answer from the air. 'What am I missing?' he almost yelled that last, the echo came back but it just repeated what he said before, it offered no answer.

Harry gasped for breath. He was so close to a piece of the mystery. He knew it! But he just couldn't…he just couldn't grasp it!

00000

They spent a little while longer in the Chamber before heading back up to the surface for dinner. The Gryffindors and the Slytherins had both had the last two periods before dinner free, which had allowed both of them to sneak down into the chamber. And since one of those had been a double period they'd had just over three hours in which to poke around the Chamber. They weren't meeting up again that night, as they already had homework to do and they needed to finish it now if they intended to retreat to the room of requirement at the weekend to try out the animagus ritual.

Even after hours of homework Harry still couldn't get the chamber out of his mind. He just felt that something was down there. Something important! Making his excuses to Ron and the others he headed up to the boys dorms. He found Krai curled up on his pillow.  
The snake wasn't asleep, he lifted his head when Harry came in and watched as his Master crossed to his trunk.

_You intend to go back to the burrow don't you Master._

If you mean the Chamber then yes I do. There's something down there Krai, I'm sure of it.

May I come? I would like to see a snake burrow that was dug by a human.

Of course. You may be able to see something I've missed.

Harry finally pulled his invisibility cloak out of his trunk. Checking that there was no one about he picked up Krai and held the snake until he had securely wound himself about Harry's shoulders. Once Krai was in a comfortable position, he waved his hand and spelled the curtains closed, as an after thought he added a silencing charm, so that if the other boys tried to check on him they wouldn't wonder why he didn't answer. After placing the cloak over his shoulders and spelling it closed, he headed down to the common room where he waited for a moment, until a first year stepped through the portrait hole.

Sneaking passed her; he headed back down to the second floor.

_The Chamber of Secrets for the second time in one day, I must be mad!_

No doubt of it Master 

00000

The snakes that guarded the door seemed even more active his time. Maybe they were nocturnal.

Krai passed no comment on them, though he did watch curiously when his Master stroked them and the quiet hissing that he had heard before, stopped.

Harry could tell that Krai was not very impressed with the human 'burrow' he complained about how snakes liked to feel the earth on either side of them and how they liked the heat. This place was surely too cold for a snake to live in and was way too large.

His last comment was when he saw the basilisk itself.

**~Lord of Serpents, no wonder you were cranky. No earth, only cold stone and no sun. How did you warm yourself; your Master did not provide for you well~**

After that the snake remained silent.

The only thing Harry said was that back then humans had no real idea how to look after snakes and just gave them what they thought they needed. And that Slytherin was a parcelmouth, so if the snake had been really adverse to the situation then it would have complained to him.

_Do you see anything?_ he asked a moment later.

_There is a doorway there, between the legs of the man of stone._

Krai answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. And it probably was to a snake; after all they did have a different view of the world to humans.

And when he looked again, Harry could see the faint outline of a door that Krai must have spotted.

Standing at the feet of Salazar Slytherin was something that in second year, Harry had thought he would never do again. And here he was, all over again. At least this time there was no basilisk to face, apart from the one lying dead behind him.

**~Open~**

Nothing happened.

He tried again and there was still no reaction. Then he cursed himself, of course, if someone had gotten this far then just using parceltongue wasn't enough to keep them out. He had to think, what would Salazar use to protect his secret. He tried everything, nothing worked. Finally he lost his temper and kicked the stone wall.

**~Dammit, Please Open Up ~**

He was shocked when a section of the statue began to move backwards revealing another corridor. Huh, he suddenly remembered Peeve's taunting 'Shan't say nothing if you don't say please', guess you really don't get anything unless you say please. Well Filch didn't get anything that night but Peeve's had to be an exception to every rule ever made.

After a quick check with Krai, to make sure the snake couldn't sense the presence of any snakes in the corridor Harry stepped forward. The corridor wasn't long, in fact it only took a few moments to traverse its entire length. With each step he took a torch affixed to a bracket upon the wall would light, allowing him to see more clearly. The walls appeared to be a translucent green, like jade, the light of the few torches bounced off the walls making the substance that coated them glow and light up the rest of the corridor.

It was beautiful, the torches and brackets had silver accents. And every so often Harry would pass protection runes and others he did not recognise drawn in molten silver. The runes were unobtrusive and would be hardly noticeable if it weren't for the glow of the torches.

When he reached the end he stopped dumbfounded at the change. The light from the torches did not reach passed the threshold, the room was dark but the destruction could be clearly seen. Everything had seemed so peaceful, un-disturbed. Before him was what must have once been a bed chamber, the shape at the far end was partially recognisable as a four poster. The hangings were a tasteful design. Cream with accents of both red, gold, green and silver. The rest of the room was decorated accordingly, a partnership of colours that belonged to the two bitterest instigators of house rivalrys. There was no doubt that the room would have been beautiful if it weren't for the condition it was in. It was obvious that someone had been here, most likely Voldemort. The room was destroyed. Furniture and other debris littered the floor.

He stepped further into the room not caring that he was stepping on things. He couldn't believe it, he'd been so sure that he would find something in here and now it looked as though someone had beaten him to it. He looked down when something crunched under his booted foot. He'd stepped on the broken edge of a portrait frame. He crouched down to take a closer look. The portrait was badly tattered and ripped and it was obvious that whereas the man inside it could once move and speak, he no longer could. The portrait had been slashed violently, much like when Sirius had slashed the fat lady. But whereas she had gotten immediate attention it was equally as obvious that no one had been able to restore this portrait and its occupant had slowly died.

The man had to be Salazar Slytherin, he wore emerald green robes and had long messy black hair; he had Harry's smooth, golden skin and his physique. If it weren't for the changes he had gone through recently he and Salazar could almost have been twin brothers.

00000

He left the room eventually, finding nothing of interest baring the portrait and a long chest that he couldn't open. He had to use both a lightening and floatation charm, as the chest was big enough to hold two or three TV video combi's. At Krai's insistence he took that with him back into the Chamber proper, so that he could see it better.

While Krai tested the lock magically, to determine what locking spell had been used on it, Harry took another look around the Chamber. That room was bothering him; it couldn't have been long since the preservation charm wore off. Harry knew that any preservation spells on a broken item would completely wear off after fifty years if not taken off by the original caster. If not removed and not destroyed the items could be preserved indefinitely. It was obvious that Tom riddle must have gained access to the Chamber when he was still in school, in a rage he broke everything in the room resulting in the degradation of the preservation charms.

What did he find out?

He almost wished he still had the Diary to ask Riddle.

There wasn't anything else, he'd already asked Krai and the snake had said there were no more hidden doors. But Harry still felt like he was missing something.  
A moment later, he knew what it was that had been nagging at him since he'd entered earlier that afternoon. His look was triumphant when he turned again to face the statue of Salazar Slytherin.

**~Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four~**

He grinned when his ancestors stone mouth opened wide. He looked up at the hole critically, well if a basilisk can get through then I'm sure I'll have no problem.

He grabbed Krai and placed the snake around his shoulders.

_Remember Master, smooth and easy. Go slow._

Harry concentrated on his magic, instead of directing it with his hand like he usually did when going wandless, he used his mind. Levitating charms were no problem for him now, he smiled thinking how far he'd come since he was a first year. He'd done this hundreds of times, Krai had no reason to give him instructions; the snake just didn't like heights. As evidenced by his refusal to go out onto the balcony at Potter Manor.

As they ascended, he knew that if Krai had eyelids they'd be firmly closed. He didn't tease the snake; everyone had something that scared them, even if 'snakes don't get scared'. As soon as he reached it he grabbed Salazar's lip and hauled himself into the mouth, ok so did not need that image.

They slid down into what Harry would come to class as the belly of the serpent. The drop was arched and ridged, just like he'd imagine a throat to be. When he landed he hit something soft and almost had a heart attack when his vision was confronted with the diamond patterned skin of a snake. But lucky for him it was all shed skin, the basilisk had obviously lined its 'burrow' with skin to keep itself warm. Maybe the snake was a bit of a thinker after all.

He looked around he was in another stone chamber, lined with basilisk skin but at the far end was the true shock of the night.

00000

He stepped towards the plinth his eyes riveted upon what lay before him. This was a sight he never thought he'd see. And it was obvious that Voldemort had not done so. If he had, would this still be here? He doubted it.

He put out his hand to touch it but recoiled when he felt the magic of an obvious ward. He didn't know what that magic would do to him if he touched it and he wasn't about to try it out.

Before him was a marble arch and beneath it a marble plinth, on which was a bed of velvet cushions and sheets. Red with silver accents and green with gold. Upon those pillows bathed in a soft glow was the body of Salazar Slytherin.

His body appeared frail, the skin paper thin and luminous in the light. Though he was obviously only middle aged his black hair was almost totally white from stress and fear. The eyes which were silver grey like Draco's were open and glassy. His lips were parted in a silent gasp, his neck and body arched as if in great pain. In one hand he clutched a tattered journal. The other still rested upon the hilt of the dagger still imbedded in his side.

Upon his cheeks and hands were symbols and runes, again for preservation and protection. Which must have been activated upon the moment of his death, for no blood trickled from his mouth, ears or nose, the body was pristine. The blood of his body had sunk to the lowest level, like any other the blood had all flowed closer to the ground. The lack of blood gave the luminous quality to his face. But the collection of blood had not caused the body to bloat like with any other corpse, it had settled their quite willingly without any problems. Due to the preservation charms no doubt. Salazar's body was perfect. If it weren't for the obvious evidences to the contrary Harry could almost believe he was merely sleeping.

_Do you know how to break the ward around him?_ Harry asked his familiar, barely taking his eyes from Salazar's face. Krai was silent for a moment while he obviously tested the wards.

_No Master I cannot these are wards that to my knowledge don't exist anywhere else. All of the usual and the unusual methods won't work in this case._

It's not your fault, but there must be some way to get that book. I'm sure it contains all of the answers to the curse.

He's your ancestor? Krai asked him.

_Yes, they always thought he left the Castle and died far away from here._

Harry was silent a moment contemplating everything and how much it would have hurt him if he were in Godric Gryffindor's place. He had a greater understanding for his ancestors than most. He too had a mate that he could lose.

_Godric never knew that his mate was just beneath his feet._

00000

He had no choice but to leave Salazar there, even though the man deserved the highest honours and to be buried in the Founder's cemetery with his mate, it was not something he could do for him right now. He had to discover how to remove those wards and get that book. He knew that that book would contain all the answers he needed.

Touching down to the ground in the main Chamber his eyes landed on the chest.

He'd forgotten about it.

_Do you know how to open this_ he asked Krai.

_Yes Master. I can do it for you now._ Harry nodded.

A moment later the lock clicked and the lid sprang open.

'My god! Is that what I think it is?'

Nestled amidst folds of green silk, was an egg. But not just any egg, a Basilisk's egg!

00000

A/N...Hey guys my reasoning behind Draco's reaction was that we don't know what he has experience over his life and if he were uncomfortable he would more than likely hide behind his mask and not show it.


	28. Chapter 28

Here ya go everyone. I want to thank my brilliant regular reviewers, without you I would probably give up posting this story here all together. Now onto the fun.

**_Chapter 27: The New Trio_**

'Well I guess everyone who said Basilisks were born from a chickens egg were wrong.' Ron said glaring at the egg from his position across the room.

The moment Harry had shown him what was inside the chest he'd backed up and was now as far away as he could possibly get, which was pretty far considering they were in the Room of Requirement. Harry and Draco both just stared at him. Draco of course was fascinated with the egg. Unlike Harry he couldn't bring himself to touch it but at least he wasn't backed up against the wall like Ron.

Where was all that Gryffindor bravery people talked about?

It had been a couple of days since Harry had gone into the Chamber for the third and hopefully the last time. He hadn't told them until today, he'd needed the time to figure out what he was going to do with the egg. It was finally the weekend and the three of them had retreated to the room of requirement to begin the animagus ritual. Of course Harry had to tell them about the egg first.

It was funny how easy it was for Draco and Ron to bond, all they needed was an 'example of Harry's stupidity' and they finally agreed on something and were able to have a conversation. Then again it did involve berating _him_ for his trek into the Chamber with only 'another bloody snake' as company. Once they were through yelling at him, it again became a little bit awkward. Well until Ron spoke up a moment ago. Now it seemed it was Harry's turn to have someone on his side.

As both he and Draco were staring at Ron as though he'd lost his mind, what the hell did chickens have to do with anything? It's not the sort of thing you'd expect someone to say when they were in the same room as a basilisk egg. He hadn't even gotten around to telling them about Salazar yet.

'What makes you say that?' Harry finally asked.

'Well look at the bloody size of it!' Ron yelled. 'Chicken'd have to be bloody massive to get that thing out!'  
'Ron there are any number of things that could have made that egg that size, an engorgement charm for example. But it doesn't matter it is definitely not a snake egg.'

'How can you tell?'  
'I saw some snake eggs when I went to the zoo before first year and that definitely does not look like a snake egg to me, it looks like a giant chicken egg. Has the same colour and everything.'

'Alright but I still don't envy the chicken.' Harry just shook his head.

'You know Ron you can come over here; the egg isn't going to hurt you.'

'Harry it's a damn basilisk's egg how do you know it won't hurt me?' Harry just looked at him. Ron looked a bit torn but finally took a step away from the wall. Well it was a start.

He could see Draco biting his lip to keep from saying some scathing remark. Harry smiled; Draco was really trying to break all of his bad habits. Harry knew it wouldn't always be this easy at the moment they were both shocked and curious and they were angrier with him than they were with each other. But once they had a reason to be pissed off with the other…he jus hoped they'd gotten to know each other better by then.

'Are you going to hatch it?' Draco asked.

'I'd need a toad for that; do you think Neville would lend me Trevor?' he asked Ron.

Ron snorted 'I doubt it mate.'

'He can never find the bloody thing anyway.' Draco muttered, they all laughed at that. It wasn't really funny, but it was true. Every house knew of Neville and his daily struggle to find the damned toad.

'Oh well, I don't intend to hatch it anyway. I've seen what these things can do. I'm going to keep it safe where Voldemort can't get to it!'

'I can't believe he didn't get it when he was there.' Ron exclaimed.

'Maybe he isn't stupid enough to hatch one. The moment it hatches you have to close your eyes, add to that the poisonous bite and I don't think anyone would want it as a pet.'

'Yeh I'd rather not have a damn snake as a pet. I'm not a Slytherin.'

'Hey!'

Harry winced. 'Well you are a Slytherin!'

'Yeh but I'm not stupid either.'

'Good point love.' Harry said

'What are you going to do with it then Harry?' Draco asked, making an obvious effort not to retaliate for the 'stupid' comment which he was sure was aimed at him.

'I'm going to send it to Potter Manor. No one can get in there without my permission.'

'What are we going to do about Dumbledore?' Ron asked. 'The old coot knows everything.'

'And how will you keep it from the Dark Lord if he gets into you're mind?' Draco asked.

'Voldemort…' Harry said with slight emphasis. 'Hasn't gotten into my mind since the middle of the Summer. If he gets into my mind, I'll just have to hope he finds other information to occupy his time. Can you imagine the damage he could do with a basilisk? Dumbledore could be just as bad. And I don't trust the man, I know he sees me as a weapon and nothing more. He also knows that a weapon can be used against him. That's why he watches me and it's why he cant find out about this. It's another thing for him to use. Neither of them can find out.' He paused for a moment thinking. 'And Dumbledore doesn't know everything. If he did we'd already be fucked.'

'You'll have to move it quick Harry. You know Dobby does the cleaning in the dorms. What would he do if he found that?' Ron asked.

'I don't want to know what he'd do. But it doesn't matter. Whatever the house elves know Dumbledore knows. And I don't think I want Dobby finding the egg when he's doing the spring cleaning.'

'Spring…? Never mind. It's a muggleism isn't it?' Ron asked.

'Eh yeh.' Ron and Draco shared a glance. He was glad they were bonding, but bloody hell couldn't they leave him alone?

'So Harry.' Draco began. 'What else did you find in the Chamber?'

'How…?'

'I've watched you for years Harry I know when you've got secrets, which means that there's got to be more to the Chamber story.'

He quickly gave them a brief description of finding Salazar, he emphasised the dagger in Slytherin's side. That was almost as important as the book. If Salazar had killed himself then it just emphasized his point that everything, the Chamber, the Basilisk, maybe even the curse had all been organized by Salazar. He knew it was true he just didn't know why.

'We will have to research wards.' Ron said.

'I agree. But if the snake doesn't know what the wards are then I doubt we'll find anything. Familiar's instinctively know everything that their Master's will need. Krai has an abundant knowledge of offensive and defensive magic doesn't he Harry?' Draco asked.

'Yeh, yeh he does, why?'

'Wards are classed as defensive magic. His main goal as your familiar is to protect and educate you so that you can defend yourself and even kill after he is gone. A familiar doesn't live forever and the work that they do cannot be constrained by knowledge.'

Now that made Harry think. A phoenix was obviously the exception to the rule of familiars as it was a magical creature and was reborn when it reached the end of its life. If this was so then it would live until Dumbledore died. This meant that Dumbledore had had a lot more years of guidance from Fawkes than would be possible for Harry himself.

Which meant that Dumbledore had a serious advantage. Voldemort had spent more time with Nagini, than Harry would with Krai before their final confrontation. Nagini would have…wait a minute!

Nagini, he had heard mentions of her in the first war. She had risen along with Voldemort, firmly wrapped around his neck. Voldemort would have got Nagini in his final year of school, or at least after school but before his eighteenth birthday, whenever that was. And Voldemort was now…well he was…Riddle had been at school over fifty years ago. A snake didn't live that long. It wasn't possible for her to live that long.

Realisation hit.

There was only one answer for it. Unless Voldemort had found some other way, then…Nagini was a basilisk.

He remembered her, remembered her slithering around the graveyard. Circling the headstone to which he was tied. He remembered the head, the large body. No snake was that large naturally. They were ambush predators, even the larger ones like Boas. And Nagini was easily four times their size around. The only thing that didn't fit was the colour. But the colour could be changed. There were many spells and potions to do that. But why wasn't Nagini the same size as the basilisk in the chamber, maybe she wasn't fully grown yet. They did say basilisks lived for centuries and if Voldemorts main goal in life was to live forever, well it all made perfect sense. Well apart from the fact that people could meet her eyes, but surely something could be done about that too?

Looking at that chest it was obviously too large for the one egg. It had held two, it had to have done. Two eggs and Voldemort left this one here in case he ever needed more venom.

Nagini's venom had enabled Voldemort to return. Basilisk's venom, what other uses did it possess.

Should _he_ raise a basilisk?

No, he couldn't, if someone else got hold of it…then it wouldn't matter what he did. If he had to fight another basilisk, along with the death eaters, any order members more loyal to Dumbledore than himself, Dumbledore and Voldemort themselves and their familiars, well, then he may as well just give up and die now. The odds were great enough against them as it was.

The other two were looking at him.

'What?'

'Well?' Draco asked slightly exasperated. 'What have you figured out?'

'Oh, uh. Nagini's a basilisk.'

Draco and Ron again, just looked at him.

'Oh that's just great!' They both said at the same time.

'How'd you figure that out?' Ron asked.

'Well look at the chest. It's obviously big enough to hold more than one egg which would explain why Voldemort doesn't have this egg. He went travelling when he left school, two snakes would have been too much to conceal. And its always wise to have a back up. And now I come to think of it Nagini looks like a basilisk.'

'Right so Nagini's a basilisk.' Ron said in a matter of fact tone. 'Well that just makes everything harder. I think we should just get on with the ritual now. The harder we work, the better we'll do.'

'I agree.' Draco said. 'We've done enough talking, now its time for action. We need to train. And since we have the rest of the day to ourselves, we better get a move on.'

'You're right we need to train, I know some things that I can teach you and the rest Krai can teach us. Becoming animagi will give us a serious advantage over the death eaters. If we transform into something big as well, then we might be able to take out Nagini. I doubt we'll manage Fawkes, but there are other ways to kill a bird. Even though I don't want to think about it, we'll have to do it to take out Dumbledore. Fawkes will protect him, that's his job. And as much as I hate to admit it we need to get rid of Dumbledore if we don't then…well I don't know exactly what will happen. But it can't be…good.' Harry finished lamely.

'Well come on then.' Ron said. 'Let's get started.'

So with a grin they all set to work.

***

The first thing was for Harry to explain the ritual that he and Krai had found in the Animagus Transformations book that had appeared on his reading list. The others were surprised as there had been no animagus book listed for them. Which made Harry wonder why _he_ had been assigned the book and the others hadn't?

Originally he had thought that there was a class in the subject, but now that he thought about it, he knew there wouldn't be. He had a funny feeling that he would be given 'private tuition', all he could hope was that it was McGonagall and not Dumbledore who was taking him. Well he could also hope he was wrong but he didn't think he was.

The ritual involved a fasting prior to the initial casting. The number of hours meant that they only had to miss breakfast. Which was a point Ron had been stuck on for so long that they'd almost missed dinner the night before as well!

'Right guys.' Harry said drawing their attention from the book they'd been engrossed in. 'The first thing we need to do is meditate, I'm assuming that since both of you are purebloods you know how to meditate?'

'Of course.' They both answered.

'Right well according to this, you have to 'enter an altered state. Then visualise your soul and the inner animal that most represents you will be revealed.' I'm guessing that means we'll see the image in our minds when we get far enough into the mental state.' He looked down at the book again. 'I think the best thing to do will be to do this one at a time. That way if we have trouble leaving the trance or if it seems to be taking too long, according to this it should take around about an hour of intense concentration. Any longer than that and it says we should wake them up.'

'Ok.' Draco said clapping his hands together. 'Who wants to go first?'

They both looked at Harry. 'Fine I'll do it!'

He did what he had done not so long ago to control his power. But instead of opening the door that contained his magic, he settled himself on the floor in the centre of his mind. Next, he examined himself. He thought about who he was, what was important to him.  
Family, friends, loyalty, love…

He didn't know how long he sat there before it happened. But suddenly the door that housed his magic opened…and an animal trotted out. His first thought was that the creature was a wolf, but it wasn't a wolf, more dog like than anything. It had long, slim, slender legs. A large muzzle that was darker than the rest of the face and huge ears which were almost rabbit like, just not as long and a little more squashed. The teeth were long and sharp, obviously. But it was the coat that truly caught his attention. He had never seen a creature with such a varied coat. The dog was covered in patches of black and brown, gold, tan and even cream, and had spots of all of those colours down its legs.

There was an elegance and a feral grace to the creature as it walked towards him. It panted slightly like any dog would before nuzzling his outstretched hand gently. He knew just watching it that it could run fast and swift to take down its enemies, like any canid it could be both vicious and loving. But he didn't know the name of the creature. He wasn't very learned on muggle creatures, he'd never had the chance really. The dog lay down and rested its head in his lap and watched him with soft brown eyes. He stroked the head tentatively and when no growl or flash of teeth was forthcoming, he rubbed behind his ear and smiled when he saw the usual doggy grin. Granted he'd only seen it on tv but all those dogs had this goofy grin on their faces when they liked being stroked.

He spent a little more time with his animagus form before noticing that everything around him other than the dog were blurring. A moment later he was staring at the concerned faces of Draco and Ron.

'Harry are you ok?' Ron asked, as Draco pulled him into a hug.

'You were out of it for an hour and a half.' Draco whispered, his voice was soft with worry.

'Well it didn't feel like that.'

'What did you see?' Ron asked. 'What's your animal Harry?'

'Some sort of dog, I don't know what exactly but it's beautiful.'

'Cool I wanna go next.' Ron smiled, excited.

'Sorry Ron but it might be better if Draco went next. Unlike us he has to put in a few appearances today. We can disappear off together and come up with a plausible excuse. But if Draco's gone for the whole day as well, someone will notice. Blaise is covering for him but he needs to be at dinner and that's in just over an hour, so he'd be better going next'

'Yeh ok.' Ron agreed.

'I'm a bloody ferret!' Draco yelled. Harry and Ron just cracked up laughing.

'It's not bloody funny!

'Oh it is. It is.' Ron said through his laughter.

'I wouldn't laugh if I were you Weasley, knowing how this is going you're probably a weasel.' And that knocked the smile right off Ron's face. Harry just laughed at the turn around. Draco had a triumphant smirk and Ron, Ron looked like he'd swallowed something nasty. While Ron stared into space, Harry tried to get Draco to see reason.

'Being a ferret is not that bad Draco.'

'Easy for you to say, at least you're something that can fight.'

'There's nothing wrong with being a ferret.' Harry repeated taking Draco into his arms. 'They're sleek, cute…'

'I'm not cute!'

'No!' Harry raised his eyebrows, 'I think…' he kissed Draco's cheek, 'you're cute when you pout like that.' He smiled and kissed Draco's neck making him sigh. 'And when you smile you're beautiful, your hair and skin is as pale as moonlight just like a ferrets.' He traced Draco's jaw with his fingers. 'You twitch your nose when you're thinking and I think a ferret has that little endearing quality too.' Draco was smiling slightly now. More at the fact that his mate was so sweet than the fact that he was coming to terms with being a ferret.

They kissed languidly, Harry nipping lightly at the blonde's lips making him moan a little. 'Hhhhhmmmm, they're also sneaky little buggers. They can crawl into the smallest spaces. And they can be bloody vicious when they want to be. Hhhhhmmm, they're deceptive, they look too innocent to be able to take care of themselves. And have you ever been bitten by a bloody ferret, it hurts. The perfect animal for a spy, don't you think?' Draco nodded, still slightly reluctant.

'I've also find one particular ferret to be quite sexy.'

'Hhhmmm well you're right about that.

***

'A sparrow, a bloody sparrow!' Harry groaned, not again. Draco who had just slipped back into the room a couple of minutes ago, smirked at him.  
'Er Ron…'  
'A sparrow Harry I'm a bloody sparrow, I…I…I just…I can't. I'm a bloody sparrow.' Harry winced as Ron's voice seemed to go impossibly loud. And Draco was just bloody smirking.  
'You might want to think of something to say to him Harry.'

Harry just looked at him, 'You could help, you know.'

'Oh no, you know Ron much better than me.' Draco looked at Ron for a moment. 'On that subject how do you usually get him to shut up?'

Harry snorted. 'I usually just ignore him or yell at him. It's Hermione who usually heads him off at the pass.' A lot of the stuff Hermione did they could live without, her lectures…forcing them to do their work when they didn't want to. But now he realised how much more she had done for them that he'd never really acknowledged it. How she broke up their fights, researched every little thing they needed…and was just…there.

He hadn't actually missed her until that moment.

Maybe he was just a selfish superficial git. Or maybe there was just too much going on for him to miss his friend. But that wasn't an excuse.

And then a moment just comes where you suddenly realise something isn't right. Someone's missing.

That time at the Burrow, they felt free. Without Hermione around they could, you know, just be kids…well more like idiots. They could play quidditch and just forget for a minute about school work and the war. If Hermione had been there it wouldn't have mattered that it was the holidays, she loved nothing more than to work, to read…which there was nothing wrong with. But if she continued like this she would crash, just like she had done in third year, only worse.

But then again, had Hermione been like that recently? All he could remember of her, for the last few days…all he could remember was Hermione sitting with Lavender and Pavarti, getting all giggly and looking at him. And that was another thing, not a single person had noticed this. The golden trio were inseparable and always had been so what was going on?

He searched his memory of that day in Diagon Alley. Had Hermione acted like herself then? No she hadn't. She hadn't lectured him once about going to Diagon Alley on his own or about having a poisonous snake as a familiar. And he found that he missed it, he missed Hermione. She should be in here right now. Calming Ron down and looking disapproving and hiding her laughter at how he'd dealt with Draco earlier.

Right now, it shouldn't be a trio; it should have been a quartet. She should be here.

But she wasn't and that was wrong!

'Ron.'

It was amazing how easily that stopped Ron's rant. It shouldn't have been that simple but Ron must have heard something in his voice that even he couldn't ignore.

'I think it's time we talked to Hermione.'

0000000000000000000000000

A/N…this may seem inane, but I don't know how long toads live. So if it is not feasible for Trevor to still be alive at the beginning of their seventh year then please indulge me. The Trevor thing was too good to pass up. Please review.


	29. Chapter 29

By this point I realised that Familiar had become much longer than I ever intended but more and more plot just kept coming. ^_^ Oh well can't be helped. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. Hope you like this chapter as much as the last.

Oh and I have no idea whether the Latin translations in this chapter are correct but they are the best I can do. Same goes for the Runes, I have very little knowledge on the subject and am doing my best. But if anyone notices a mistake can they let me know. I had to use online latin translators.

Chapter 28: Ritual

That night Harry and Ron returned to the Gryffindor Tower determined to talk to Hermione. They found her as they had seen her many nights since the start of the year, sat with Parvati and Lavender, giggling along in response to something one of them had said.

'Hermione can we have a word with you for a minute?' Harry asked her. That unsurprisingly set off another bunch of giggles and made Hermione blush.

Harry and Ron shared a glance.

'Alright Harry.' She said that with a smile and a slight blush as she stood. They led her over to the other side of the common room, where they could talk quietly for a moment without arousing suspicion.

'Hermione we were just wondering how you were?' Harry asked. 'We haven't had the chance to talk since we came back. I bet you've been spending most of your time in the library like usual?' Harry prompted.

'Oh no Harry, why ever would I spend my time in the library? Lavender and Parvati have been teaching me some charms to make my hair more manageable and tomorrow they're going to give me a makeover!' She squealed that last part.

'That's great Hermione.' Ron said with a forced smile.

'I know it is isn't it. Well I'd better be going back we were trying to decide what we would be wearing to the Halloween party.'

'But that isn't for ages yet.' Ron exclaimed.

Hermione just tutted at him and explained that a girl likes to have everything planned out whereas a boy would just throw anything on. She said that last with a little glance down at Ron's attire which made the red head bristle a bit in indignation.

She left them. Harry and Ron just stared at each other for a moment.

'That isn't like Hermione Harry.' Ron said.  
'No not the make up thing, but that last bit comparing boys and girls had a little bit of Hermione in it. There was a little bit of a lecturing tone to it. Let me think for a minute.'

They flopped down in the chairs, Harry with his back to the rest of the room. Ron pretended to strike up a conversation and began to talk incessantly on some subject while Harry thought.

What could possibly make Hermione act like that? It was too quick for the change to occur naturally, people did change but they never changed that quickly. He'd seen her a month ago, she'd acted a bit odd but she'd still been Hermione. Now she was completely different. He felt sure that if he'd have asked her if she'd finished that charms essay she'd have told him no.

So if it wasn't natural, what was it? It could have been _imperious_ but he doubted it. Krai would have known if she were and told him like he had done with Snape.

What about memory charms?

They'd already learned that Harry had a memory blocked and Dumbledore was the obvious suspect. The same thing could have happened to Hermione. But if it was a memory charm it was obvious that this one affected more than just the memory, it affected Hermione's personality.

Huh, had his personality been affected by the memory charm on him? Would anyone even know?

That was another thing; she was acting different and no one had wondered why. Ron surely would have noticed if something was off with him, they were best friends. Hermione would have noticed too. But would the others, the rest of the seventh years? They were all friends but they weren't as close as the 'Golden Trio' were, maybe because of that they wouldn't have noticed a slight difference in either of their personalities. He looked around the room.

'Neville, hey Neville. Come over here a second mate.' Harry called. Neville smiled shyly as he headed over.

'Can I just ask you Neville have you noticed anything strange about Hermione lately?' Ron was listening avidly.

'Erh yeh.' Neville blushed. 'What happened?'

'What do you mean?' Ron asked confused.

'Well we all thought you'd had a falling out. We didn't want to say anything, because we didn't know how you'd react.'

'Everyone thinks we've had a falling out?'

'Yeah. So what happened?'

'We don't know. We saw her a couple of weeks ago and she was fine. She went on holiday with her parents, came back and hasn't really spoken to us since. Though she did sit with us on the train didn't she?' Harry obviously got lost in thoughts again, so Ron quickly diverted Neville with talk of Quidditch.

Harry smiled to himself.

He didn't dare tell Ron but it seemed spending time with Draco had brought out a little bit of sneaky Slytherin in his friend.

He cast his mind back to the beginning of the week.

Hermione had been fine on the train. She'd stared at him a bit like she had in Diagon Alley but she'd talked like normal Hermione, books and lectures. She'd questioned him thoroughly on why his clothes were so mucky, especially only on the back. And then she'd left him alone with a little huff and gone back to her book. He found it strange that Hermione hadn't recognised him in Diagon Alley and she'd had a few odd moments there as well. But for the majority she had been normal Hermione. So that meant whatever had happened had started before then, but had been slow. Then after three weeks away with her parents she'd come back her old self, stared a little but a lot of people seemed to be staring at him.

He'd left straight after his chat with the sorting hat. He hadn't even eaten his dinner and then the following day… he couldn't remember even talking to Hermione the next morning. No he hadn't, he hadn't spoken to her and then after that all he remembered was her talking with Parvati and Lavender.

It had to be a memory charm of some sort and it had to be Dumbledore who'd cast it. If it was true then Dumbledore didn't want them to hang around with Hermione and trying to find out what was wrong with Hermione would cause Dumbledore to focus on them again.  
And that wasn't a risk they could afford to take.  
For now they couldn't do anything about Hermione, no matter how much it hurt seeing her like this, they couldn't do anything for her other than to try and find out exactly what sort of memory charm it might be and how to break it.

And when that was done he'd rip Dumbledore's throat out for hurting his friend.

The following morning they again skipped breakfast and Ron moaned all of the way up to the Room of Requirement. If Harry wasn't used to Ron and his appetite, he'd have found it really annoying and said something. But knowing Ron as he did he could just laugh at Ron's obvious distress at missing a meal. Then again he wasn't that happy about missing another breakfast himself. He was just glad they were able to have their dinner yesterday. Although Ron had still groused about the no meat rule that they'd had to follow. It may not be a particularly deadly ritual but purification was important no matter what. If he wanted to become an animagus without it taking years then they had to do this, for this was the only way.

Ron had also moaned over the preparations of the ritual. If bathing and washing your hair in water containing drops of lavender, rosemary and thyme oils…and salt, was a hardship, well, then Merlin help him if he ever had to do a harder ritual. So Ron had to be careful about his choice of clothing and only choose natural materials such as cotton or wool, there was no need to moan about it.

The Room of Requirement was the same as it had been yesterday; a cosy representation of the Slytherin and Gryffindor common rooms, the only difference was the hundreds of cushions on the floor, on which Draco was already sat. Around the room were symbols and lit candles, all of varying colours to symbolise protection and strength of mind. Harry nodded to himself, the room's protections would not interfere with the ritual, they would most likely strengthen it.

Draco rose when they came in and Harry swept him into an intense kiss, his frustration at not being with Draco since the night before evident in his actions. Ron watched his best friend with a little hint of jealousy; he wanted someone to greet him like that.

'Ok, ok. Enough you two; I don't need to see that.'

They broke away quite reluctantly, heads bowed and arms still tightly gripping each other.

'Sorry Ron.' Harry whispered. 'It's just hard not being with him.'

'S'ok mate, I was just joking.'

'Well are we going to get started or what?' Draco asked, finally breaking his hold on Harry's shoulders.

They began to clear a space in the centre of the room, pilling most of the cushions around the edge of the room but leaving some in the centre. Once sufficient space was cleared Harry conjured a piece of white chalk. White to symbolise purity, beginnings and renewal, it was perfect for this type of ritual.

The first stage was to draw a circle in a clockwise direction. Even though the ritual wasn't dangerous and would not harm them or anyone else there was always the possibility of unwanted energies seeping in and affecting the ritual casting so a circle was completely necessary. It was a shame that ritualism was a subject no longer taught at Hogwarts, believed to be old fashioned and outdated. That was one of the reasons this ritual wasn't used often, most people even dark wizards steered clear of rituals because they could all too easily go wrong. And if they did there was no telling what could happen to the person trapped inside the circle.

Once the circle was sealed the three of them conjured many different coloured candles to line the inner wall of the circle.

The truth was that rituals were dangerous and most had been labelled as dark magic and banned accordingly, it was interesting that this ritual had made it past the scrutiny. But then again this one was a recent creation and therefore could be termed as not having any dark magic. But even the knowledge that a ritual was as light as could be, still didn't influence many people to try it. This ritual condensed all of the pain and discomfort of the traditional trial and error approach to animagus transformations. The caster would experience slight discomfort during this phase that they were about to perform as it all happened within the mind. The second stage was the transformation of the body. The person would be forced to transform after their mind had undergone enough transformations to ensure a safe change. The body's transformation could occur at any point and could not be stopped. The person during that one transformation received all of the pain that would have been felt over the several years needed to transform in the original way. It was an intense experience and it was this amount of pain that put off a lot of people from attempting the ritual. Add to that the fact that the ritual didn't always work and well there were a lot of reasons not to do it.

It would hurt him to know Draco would be in pain, but not doing this could mean that Draco would be in more pain later on. An animagus form could mean the difference between torture/death and escape and for Draco he would settle for nothing than escape. Though he would prefer to rescue the blonde himself then he could protect him. Anyway no matter the reason the ritual was necessary to them and it had to be performed on this the last day of the weekend because it was a to day ritual. And when else would they have the time? They could wait until the holidays but Harry wanted his mate to be safe as soon as possible.

The candles that needed to be cast were: white to keep the circle pure, light blue to calm the occupants, purple to ward against harmful energies and lemon yellow to bolster the depleted energies of the circle's occupants. Half of this was not actually necessary but Harry would not take any risks when his mate…and his best friend were involved.

For added security he drew several pentagrams, one of the oldest symbols of protection, at key points around the circle.

The finishing touches to the circle involved the transcription of runes…Algiz, for protection and Nauthiz, which had a minor meaning of self-initiated change. Fehu for creation and finally Kenaz the rune for transformation.

It would have been better to perform the ritual on Monday, according to the book the day was influenced by inner elements of the psyche. But Sunday was good enough and it was the only day open to them.

They arranged the cushions that they had placed in the centre earlier, making it so that none would touch the chalk or candles. Then they got comfortable, which for Harry and Draco meant sitting close together so they could touch. For Ron it meant plumping up a load of cushions and then falling backwards which resulted in a cloud of feathers, but if he was comfy then what did it matter.

And then they began the _Bestia Mutatio Ritus_.

Saying the words of the ritual in concert so as not to disturb the building magic.

_  
**'Ego precor meus penitus veneficus ,  
Ut beckon continuo creatura quisnam typicus meus animus.  
Permissum meus mens interfixus via pro meus somes.  
Quod meus somes insisto is ut is mos.'**  
_

They cleared their minds, until nothing was left apart from an image of themselves as humans and the image of the creature that had come to them last night. Once the images were clear they concentrated, bringing the animal's image forward to overlay the one of their bodies.

As the book said they then felt an itching sensation along their spines and hands. Harry felt things shifting, rearranging themselves. He didn't open his eyes, he knew that if he did he wouldn't see anything anyway. The ritual being faster than the original method of transformation (which was basically trial and error) and more painful, had to be done in the mind first. This meant that everything he was feeling, the itches and the shifts were all happening to his mind. It was a way for the body to get used to the idea of transformation without the actual stresses of a physical change.

It was a strange feeling, to have the sensation of changing and yet knowing your body was still the same. He felt the bones of his arms and legs shift, he felt himself shrinking. He felt like he was falling onto all fours even though he wasn't even standing.

The itching sensation intensified and spread, he knew it was supposed to be fur sprouting all over his body. His nose grew, so did his ears, his eyes changed position slightly. And last but not least he felt his teeth lengthen and a tail sprout from his rear. The sensation of being surrounded by a different body continued for some time. Finally Harry decided that that was long enough, this time he took the image of the animal away from that of his own body. This time he felt himself changing back.

Once the sensations had finished, he opened his eyes and looked around. They both had their eyes closed. But then again they'd had to shrink further than him and Ron had had to grow wings. That definitely wasn't easy.

He settled back into the pillows to watch them, he felt so tired, he just wanted to sleep but he couldn't not while Draco was still in the trance and there was clean up work to do. It was funny watching Ron, every so often he would give an odd little grimace. Draco just looked a little pale.

He watched them, there were no other physical signs other than slightly goose pimpled skin. Once they were all aware he spoke the closing words of the ritual, closing the circle and dousing the candles.

They then conjured besoms and swept the now un-magical chalk into a pile to be vanished.

'Well, that's it.' Harry said looking around. 'I suggest we all get some rest. Remember every spare moment where you're not thinking or using your mind, imagine what you saw in your mind. Your animal overlaying your body. You should feel the same sensations you felt then. If not then you may have to repeat the ritual. After that it could be a day or more, maybe even a week before the mind has gone through the transformation enough for the body to attempt it. And remember that no matter where you are or what you are feeling, if the itching sensation starts then retreat to your rooms. Pretend you're going to throw up if you have to but make sure you get away and find somewhere private. Cast silencing charms and privacy wards and do it fast. And make sure you get comfortable if you don't have time to get somewhere safe then at least make sure you cast a silencing charm because even though the minds practiced it, the body hasn't. So it will bloody hurt.'

They were on their way to the door when Ron spoke.  
'That was the weirdest bloody feeling ever.' Ron said.

'This is getting to be a habit, but I agree with the Wea…Ron.' Draco winced expecting Ron to yell.

'You know Malf…Draco. You're not as bad as I thought you were.'

Draco smiled. 'Truce?'

'Truce.' Ron replied, taking Draco's hand.

Harry just smiled. They were exhausted he could see it, but they were making an effort.

And as much as he wanted to lock himself in this room with Draco, he knew he couldn't. They'd been gone long enough. Dumbledore would be suspicious but hopefully not enough to question Ron or Draco. Harry knew he could withstand Dumbledore prodding his mind, he practiced occlumency every moment he could. If Voldemort couldn't break into his mind even though he did have a direct link into Harry's mind then Dumbledore certainly couldn't.

They'd spent long enough together this weekend as it was and as much as it hurt him and hurt Draco, he knew it would be worse if Dumbledore had reason to question them. Draco and Ron wouldn't be able to withstand an intrusion into their minds; he may not like spending this much time apart from Draco but for now doing so kept Draco safer.

They kissed goodbye, a slow loving kiss that somehow still felt desperate. They couldn't imagine being apart when the other could go and transform at any moment. But they had to and it killed them inside.

Leaving each other at the door to go their separate ways was one of the hardest things either of them had ever done.

.

Latin translation.

_Bestia mutatio ritus_…Animal transformation ritual.

_EGO precor meus penitus veneficus ,  
Ut beckon continuo creatura quisnam typicus meus animus.  
Permissum meus mens interfixus via pro meus somes.  
Quod meus somes insisto is ut is mos._….

I invoke my inner magic  
To beckon forth the creature who symbolises my soul.  
Let my mind pave the way for my body.  
And my body follow it when it will.


	30. Chapter 30

Heyla everyone thank you for reviewing. ^_^ Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 29: Transformations

Nothing happened that night or the following morning, other than the fact that Harry became more high strung as the minutes ticked by. He was worried that the transformation would come to his mate when he wasn't around to help and comfort him. He also feared that his mate would go through the transformation first. He would prefer it the other way, that way he would be better able to protect his mate and reassure him when the worst was over.

Draco was more important than anyone, he knew that he couldn't stop every little bit of pain from reaching his mate but he could make the pain that his mate had to feel as bearable as possible.

So Harry wasn't feeling his best, Krai was hanging around his shoulders firmly under glamour. Ron was walking beside him and sitting next to him in class, chatting away to him when he'd much rather have peace and quiet so that he could think. None of them had transformed yet though he knew someone was close. He could feel it and what upset him the most was that he knew it wasn't him. The amount of pain one felt when transforming was unspecified and he'd wanted to go through it first so that he could experience it and help prepare the other two.

Ron was still grousing a little over being a sparrow but Draco seemed to have adapted to the idea of being a ferret quite well. He'd looked them up in the muggle encyclopaedia's the Library had for Muggle Studies and found he quite liked the idea of being a ferret. It had taken Ron ages to come to terms with being a 'bloody sparrow' and that was only after Harry had acted envious over the fact that Ron could now fly without a broom.

Although Ron liked the idea of that he didn't seem to see the value in all of the other assets the Sparrow possessed for their situation. The Sparrow was a common creature and could therefore go anywhere, it was small and could dart about quite quick. His only worry was that he would have to watch out for Crookshanks and all the Owls that were bigger than Pig.

By dinner time of the next day Harry was really pissed off and resorted to appealing to Ron's ego to get him to like his animagus form.

'Hey Ron, do any of your brothers have an animagus form?' silently praying that they didn't because this was his last shot. But Ron's face broke into a smile and he knew he'd hit the nail on the head. 'No they don't! If I transform successfully I'll be the only one in my family to do it.' Ron went back to his dinner smiling happily. Harry rolled his eyes he should have tried that in the first place.

They had a free period after lunch and decided to do some of their homework for the following week. Just in case anything cropped up. And as luck would have it, the moment they were leaving to head to DADA, Ron came over a bit funny. He grabbed Harry's arm in a vice grip and refused to let go.

'Harry I think it's starting.'

'Shit!' Harry exclaimed leading the boy back over to his bed so that he could lie down. He kicked some of Ron's books out of the way; the most important thing was getting Ron comfortable. He got the potion vial out of Ron's pocket that contained the pain reliever Draco had brewed the other day. It was one of the ones from the 'Maturity' book so it would hopefully be strong enough.

Ron took it without question.

'Don't worry about it Ron, you'll be fine.'

'Harry get going, you can't stay here with me. You'll have to disappear yourself later. You can't use the same excuse twice.'

Harry nodded. 'I'll be back the moment class finishes to see how you are.' He grabbed his bag and left, even as he was closing the door behind him he heard Ron muttering the locking and silencing charms on his bed curtains.

The dormitory wasn't the most private of places but it was the best they could do. He arrived at the classroom a few minutes late but after explaining that Ron had been ill, Remus let him off and he was able to sit down and listen to the class.

Unfortunately he was called upon to participate. Remus was teaching patronuses. A few of the students who had been in the DA already had their own but to the others this was something new and when they saw the silvery stag erupt from Harry's wand they were all awed. Lupin hadn't bothered bringing a boggart to the class, as he knew Harry's patronus was distinct enough to be seen by the class. He set about teaching them in almost the same way Harry had taught the DA. He asked Harry to walk around and talk to some of the students who appeared to be struggling and give them a hand while he did the same at the other end of the room.

Harry spent his time helping the other students but he was also thinking.

He needed to re-start the DA. What they had achieved in fifth year was brilliant and he had a much wider range of knowledge now. His friends could really benefit from it. It also enabled him to train Ron up with the others so he and Draco could spend more time alone together. Even if it was firing spells at each other, he'd take what he could get. Did it make him selfish that he wanted to spend time alone with Draco? Probably, but he didn't really care. He didn't need Krai's voice in his head telling him that he 'hardly ever did anything for himself and it was about time he did!', so he had decided he was going to re-open the DA.

The end of the lesson approached and he was anxious to get back to Ron. Surely the transformation was over now. And if it was he was sure his friend would be ecstatic that he could now transform at will whenever he wished. But Remus held him back after class.

'Harry we need to talk?'

'About what?'

Remus just smiled for a moment and then he cast a complicated silencing charm that Harry had read about but hadn't tried to do yet.

'Harry you are now 17 and are going through the transition phase. You sent me regular letters throughout the summer, informing me of your acquisition of a familiar, your progress at what he assigned you to learn and the changes your body went through. I alone was prepared for what I would see when I met you again. But now you don't speak to me unless you are asked a question in my lesson.'

'I…'

'I know you are dominant Harry. I am dominant myself and I know that your familiar will have told you that. He no doubt warned you that we could possible be at odds until after one of us has claimed our mates. Sometimes it is hard for me to force these instincts aside, especially when I sense his scent upon you after your lessons together. But I and most importantly the wolf inside me consider you to be family, to be pack. And a wolf's pack is one of the most important things to them. The only thing that comes between a wolf and its pack is its mate and offspring, you may not have been birthed from either my mate's body or mine but both the wolf and I consider you to be our son. You are in no danger from me Harry. I want you to come to me with your problems, to trust me with them again. The wolf in me won't hurt you Harry.'

'I know that. I was scared that I might hurt you.'

'I don't think you will. Your familiar is trying to protect you as any good familiar should. He will know of our relationship through your mind but it would be difficult for him to understand and interpret human emotions correctly. Its safer for him to think of me as a threat, even if he thinks I won't do you harm, he knows his own limitations and realises that any mistake he made could cost you your life. He also realises how much it would hurt you if you attacked me.' He paused a moment.

'A snake can't understand human emotions; they are as foreign to him as they are to any other animal. He knows about the instincts of the dominant, to attack threats to their mate. He also knows we are family. But he has no idea which one of those is the stronger…'

'So he's protecting us both?'

'Yes. Where is he now I would like to thank him for looking after you so well?'

'I left him with Ron. To keep him company.'

'So have you had your transformation yet?'

'No I…what?'

'I have the senses of a wolf Harry, it'll be full moon in a few days so my senses are stronger. You, Ron and Draco Malfoy all have an underlying scent of an animal. So I guessed you had done the ritual last weekend, when I couldn't find you.'

'Yeah, yeah we did.'

'So, what are you?'

'I'm some sort of dog, I don't know what type exactly. Ron's a Sparrow and Draco…' he smiled. 'Draco's a ferret.'

Remus smiled. 'So I take it Draco is your mate, isn't he?'

'Yes.' Harry said, slightly defensive in case his godfather said anything.

'I'm glad you've finally seen behind the masks he's worn.'

'What?'

'I'm a wolf Harry. When I was here teaching in third year, I could smell his fear, his confusion, everything. I always knew he was acting a part.'

'Why didn't you tell me?'

'Would you have believed me if I had?'

Harry thought back to third year, Draco gloating over Buckbeak's imminent death and shook his head. 'No I wouldn't have seen it then.'

'It's always best to see the real person yourself. Having someone tell you, makes it different. How did Ron react when you told him about Draco?'

'He went up the wall.' Remus smiled, he was well acquainted with the red heads temper.

'And I bet it took him a while to get over it. That's because he didn't see the changes himself, he wasn't able to come to his own conclusion and it shocked him.'

'Do you like him?' Harry asked. Remus knew who he was talking about.

'Even though I saw it I couldn't like him until he showed it. Continuing to be his Father's puppet didn't endear him to me. But now, I know he's still acting but he isn't as bad as he was and I know he has to do it to keep safe.'

'I made him stay that way.' Harry smiled.

'And I understand why.' Remus said. 'As he's you're mate…I know I'll like him. Whether or not I ever actually see the real him. You could never have a mate I didn't like.'

'Why?'

'Because it's you. I'll like whoever you're with.'

'Thank you.'

000

Ron was asleep when he got back. No doubt exhausted from his bodies first transformation.

He didn't wake him up. Instead he sat on his bed and did some homework and waited for his friend to wake up. When Ron didn't wake in time for dinner Harry went down himself and had a very quick lunch to keep up appearances before dashing off to the kitchen to pick something up for Ron. When he went back Ron was awake and trying to sit up in bed. Harry helped him and then handed over the twenty or so chicken legs and the sandwiches and cakes Dobby had insisted on giving him for his 'Weazy'.

'Are you ok?' Harry asked.

'Tired.' Ron sighed, resting his head back on the pillow.

'Did the pain potion work?'

'Yeah eventually.'

'What do you mean?'

'The potion doesn't kick in quick enough.'

'Damn, we've got nothing else.'

They were silent for a while, Ron was exhausted and Harry was thoughtful.

There wasn't anything they could do other than sneaking into the hospital wing. And Madam Pomfrey would certainly notice if any potions went missing. And they didn't have time to brew anymore. Could he ask Snape? If the man was in what he termed 'a good mood' it could be possible. There were moments over the past few days when he had run into the potions master, sometimes he was the snarky git from past years at other times he was the nicer Snape that he was starting to get to know.

The only thing they could do was wait and see.

000

That night Draco was supposed to meet him in the room of requirement, he didn't show up. The only thing that stopped him from running into the Slytherin common room that very moment was the fact that he'd have a hell of a job explaining that to the Slytherins. And right now the Slytherins were a danger to his mate; he couldn't protect him from enemies that slept in the same room. But he did have an easier way of getting in.

He made a quick stop off at his dorm to pick up his invisibility cloak and a little golden galleon. This was the galleon that they used for all DA meetings; Hermione had done another specialized charm on it last year that allowed Harry to contact individuals as well as the general group. Blaise may not have been a DA member but Harry had given him his own galleon regardless. Once he was outside the entrance to the Slytherin common room he set the numbers of the galleon to today's date and the current time. A moment later Blaise was opening the entrance, he held the door open wide enough for Harry to slip in while he yelled something at someone at the other end of the common room. He waited a moment after Harry had slipped passed him. Then left, he'd be gone about ten minutes walking around the dungeons before coming back and no doubt bothering him and Draco. At least they'd have a few minutes peace.

They had told Blaise about the Transformation, the Slytherin had been a bit annoyed at first that no one had asked him to participate in the ritual. But once he'd heard about the risks involved he'd acknowledged that maybe he was better at diverting peoples attention from Draco. After all the Slytherin was useless, always wanting to be the centre of attention and because of that was more likely to be missed, so Blaise was a necessary precaution.

Harry knew Blaise would have been watching out for Draco, it was obvious that his mate must have gone through the transformation, that was the only reason he'd have missed their meeting. Unless he was injured, no he was fine, he'd just transformed that was all.

Harry hurried up to the seventh year boys dorms. He'd been in here plenty of times talking to Blaise, the room never changed. Unlike Gryffindor tower it wasn't rounded (for obvious reasons), it was a long rectangle; the beds were four posters but made of a darker wood than those in Gryffindor. The hangings were of course green and silver but unlike Gryffindor there were no real windows, only fake ones. Harry of course spared none of this a glance, he ran to the bed with its curtains drawn.

Draco was sleeping, his face was pale and wan, his body was curled tightly in a ball and his hair was tousled. Harry sat beside him on the bed and stroked the blonde hair until he began to stir.

'Harry?'

'I'm here. I'm under the cloak.' There was too much risk to remove it.

'Where is everyone?'

'They're all down in the common room, I saw them when they came up. How are you feeling?' He asked brushing a strand of Draco's hair out of his face so that he could see him better.

'Horrible.'

'Hhhmmm, but you're an animagus now, does that make it worth it?' Draco smiled as Harry knew he would. 'That's something no one can take away from you. And you did it the hard way.' Draco smiled again, burrowing his head more into the pillow.

'Don't worry beautiful, you'll wake up as right as rain in the morning.'

'Hhhhmmmhh…stay…'

'You want me to stay?'

Draco nodded slowly, his eyes closed.

'Then I'll stay.' Harry said.

Draco was asleep a moment later. Harry continued to stroke his hair, not taking his eyes from the blonde's face.

'Harry?' It was Blaise's voice.

'Here.'

Blaise came up to the bed and smiled when he saw Draco's hair rising and falling, he knew what Harry was doing and was happy. It was about time that they both had someone to take care of them. Slytherin's were like snakes in so many ways, few of them looked out for others. Draco was different, he'd helped Blaise out many times before, he deserved someone who could take that burden and help him when he needed it.

The same went for Harry. The boy wasn't completely a Slytherin, he combined more house traits than anyone Blaise had ever seen. Harry needed somebody just like Draco did. You couldn't have friends in Slytherin, with everyone only out for themselves but you could in Gryffindor. Harry though unlike his housemates had grown up long before his time, much like many of the Slytherins. When you lived with people who would stab you in the back at any moment…you had to get older quicker. If you didn't you didn't last long. Harry needed someone like him, someone who wasn't just interested in the house cup or the quidditch cup; he needed more than a friend. He needed someone who would be there for him; take care of him, someone with whom he had a connection that went deeper than that of friendship. They both needed someone to depend on.

Friends could come and go over the silliest little things, just look at fourth year with Ron. Harry and Draco needed each other now to deal with everything that was happening. The two of them together had a chance of surviving all their problems, separately they would founder.

The most important thing was 'the future'. For a long time now Harry had had the motivation to kill Voldemort, but he had nothing to motivate him to live on afterwards. Yes he had friends and friends were important, but there was more to life than that. Now Harry could look ahead to a future with his mate by his side. And Draco who had always been afraid to stand against his Father, to become an outcast in Slytherin house and stand alone, now had somebody beside him to help and protect him. Someone who he loved and could build a new life with. Draco had never been able to look forward and see that before.

Now he could.

Now they both could.

000

Harry awoke the next morning with his mate wrapped around him and vague images of Blaise helping him into the bed and closing the curtains.

Draco was still asleep. His face wasn't as pale as it had been and he seemed warmer. He'd never seen anything so…perfect, despite the obvious bed head. He was smiling tenderly when Draco finally opened his eyes.

'Morning love.'

Draco smiled at him and replied in kind.

'As much as I don't want to say this.' Harry said, snuggling closer to the blonde. 'I'm going to have to go soon.' Draco's smile faded but he nodded.

'I know.'

Suddenly Harry rolled on top of Draco and pinned his arms loosely at his side.

'Kiss goodbye?' Harry asked with a cheeky grin.

Draco snorted. 'You can have two things, take them or leave them.'

Harry sat back, his arms resting on Draco's stomach, trailing over the light hairs that were exposed by a rolled up pyjama top.

'Snakes and snitches?' Harry asked, eyebrow raised. Draco just blushed and said 'Well?'

'Do I get to know what they are before I say yes?'

'No.'

'I'll still say yes then.'

'Ok.' Draco smiled. 'First…' Harry was expecting it and could have blocked it but he didn't want to. So he let Draco whack him with a pillow.

'That's for being a cheeky git.' Draco said laughing.

Harry pretended to wince and acted like he was dying.

'And this…' Draco said, winding his hands in Harry's hair and pulling his head down. 'Is for being so sweet last night.'

It seemed like ages since they had done this. Harry was in heaven, he was wearing yesterdays clothes and Draco still looked a little peaky, his legs were tangled in his invisibility cloak but he wouldn't have traded that kiss for anything.

It was sweet and tender and ultimately loving. Their kisses up until now had mainly been stolen and desperate. Brief moments of affirmation, a desperate need to show each other that they were wanted, missed, desired.

Small moments within a larger whole that either of them would have trade for something better.

Harry should have been demanding after last nights worry but he wasn't, a night spent in Draco's arms seemed to mellow him like nothing else could. It had been their first night together, sleeping in the same bed. Not exactly how he had wanted it but perfect because it was Draco who he was with and Draco's bed that they were in.

He pulled back from the kiss reluctantly when he heard other bodies in the room stirring. He knew Draco had one way silencing charms on his curtains and wasn't worried about one of the others having heard them. Draco waited a moment to calm his breathing and flushed features.

Harry donned his cloak and pecked Draco on the cheek before allowing his mate to open the curtains around their bed.

'I'll see you in class. I have 'remedial potions with Snape later, meet me in the ROR. Please.' He whispered. Draco gave only the slightest nod in answer.

He slipped passed Draco's body and made his way to the door being careful not to step on or brush against anything that could give him away. Blaise was the only other boy up at the moment and it would have been him that left the door open when he headed out to the shower.

He made it out of the common room but nearly ran straight into Snape outside the potions classroom. Snape appeared to be in a 'bad' mood, so it was lucky he spotted him just in time.

He hurried up to Gryffindor tower, the quicker he moved the faster he could get down to breakfast so that he could watch Draco eating at the Slytherin table.

000

That day was the worst one so far. Seeing Draco every so often but having no chance to talk to him really hit hard. Whenever he was with others things seemed to affect him less, but when he was with Draco every thought, feeling and touch was amplified. And not having that, missing out on even the slightest touches was torture. Especially after being able to hold Draco for a whole night.

The only thing that kept him from storming over to the Slytherin table that lunchtime was Ron's restraining hand and the knowledge that he would see Draco that night. And the way he was feeling now, he had no intention of letting him go.

000

He arrived at the potions classroom that night in quite a state, he was a little worried as to what type of Snape would turn up. The one who would attack his mind relentlessly or would it be the nicer Snape he was just starting to know?

Snape had tested his mind last week, would it still hold up to the attack. One Snape would be relentless in trying to break into Harry's mind, the other would do the same thing but he'd probably be nicer about it.

Add to that the anticipation of being with Draco again soon and Harry was fairly bouncing on his toes with excitement and dread.

He knocked and heard a muffled voice say 'Come in.'

Stepping inside he saw conjured cushions on the floor in case Harry was on the floor after being hit by 'legimens' and Snape sat at his desk.

'Evening Harry. Be with you in a moment.'

Harry nodded, a little relieved. Nice Snape, thank god!

Before Harry knew what was happening Snape had his wand pointed at him and had shouted 'Legilimens!'

Again Harry couldn't get up his shields in time and again he felt nothing.

'It seems that I cannot break into your mind. But you must keep practicing. Voldemort is getting stronger every day and there is…' He visibly hesitated and Harry was sure he was stopping himself from saying Dumbledore's name out loud. '…others who could be a threat to you. Lucius is a legilimens, not as accomplished as me. But we don't know if this…block only works when I attack you. So be prepared to guard your mind against him. I don't know about any of the other death eaters but…' He went silent.

'Did you speak to Voldemort about me?'

Snape looked up at him; his eyes were warmer than Harry had ever seen them.

'I did.'

'You had no choice don't worry about it.' Harry meant it. Somewhere over the last week he had gotten over the whole 'do they recognize me' thing. What did it matter? He'd always known people looked passed his face and overlooked his personality completely in favour of the scar. And this told him what people relied on 'scar-value' and what people weren't worth bothering with. There were more important things now.

'Harry, he didn't react when I told him. Not in the slightest but he wants to know every step you make. I've had to tell him about our 'remedial potions' lessons. He wanted me to bring you to him. I got out of it by saying that Dumbledore keeps a constant check on us. I told him that there were wards and he'd know within a moment if I took him out of the castle. I wouldn't be able to get you passed the apparition wards.'

'What about portkeys they could work, they have done before.' He said thinking of fourth year.

'Dumbledore placed wards after the events of fourth year if any portkey came onto the grounds he'd know.'

'So I'm safe?'

'For now, he's planning to try and take you during the next Hogsmeade weekend.'

'Damn. I can't stay away from Hogsmeade because that will tip him off.'

'No you can't.' Snape agreed. 'Harry listen to me I know we've had a few problems but I think we need to work together. I'm almost free of it now, I know you know what I'm talking about. I've already spoken to Remus, he remembers now. He remembers all the times that ihe/i forced us apart when we were friends. And finding out we were mates in your third year. Poor Remus he thought I didn't want him, didn't care that he was my mate. There was a memory charm on him; Dumbledore had to have placed it after I refused Remus. But he remembers now.' If he hadn't been expecting it he would probably have fallen over when the man smiled.

'Did you break it?' he asked, thinking of Hermione.

'No. I came back to myself and a moment later his face went white…and he kissed me.'

'Is there a memory charm that affects a personality?' Harry asked.

'Yes there is, it can't be broken by just anyone. They will either break it themselves, when some strong emotion or feeling associated with the memory overcomes them…or the person who cast it, released them. I think it's the same one used on Remus. He has to pretend to be indifferent to me, to not care about the snide remarks I'm forced to make. We're both acting now. It's safer.'

'I know how that feels.'

'Who is it?'

'Hermione, Krai told me he thought it was a memory charm.'

'Krai?'

'My familiar, I didn't tell you about him before…'

'It's fine, I understand why, don't worry about it.' Snape interrupted. 'I'd like to meet him. The boy who lived's familiar, he must be quite interesting.' Snape smiled.

'He is interesting.' Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. 'You know its strange talking to you like this, only because I never thought I would be. Other than that it actually feels good to talk to someone…' Harry suddenly stopped speaking. 'Oh not now, please not now.'

'Harry what?'

'Shit. I haven't got the time to get back.' Harry said to himself thinking fast. Damn it, there was no way he could get up to Gryffindor Tower; he'd have to trust Snape. Well he did but this was a pretty big thing.

'Professor I'm afraid I'm about to change.' If this wasn't such an awkward situation he would have laughed at the confused look on Snape's face. 'Me, Ron and Draco we…er oh lord, we cast the i_Bestia Mutatio Ritus_./i'

He'd thought Snape's face had been good before, now it was priceless.

'Sir I'm about to transform and I don't have the time to get back to Gryffindor Tower. Will you allow me to stay here while I'm transforming and not tell the headmaster?'

Snape seemed to regain his voice at that and said yes. Regaining his wits he made the cushions on the floor that he had conjured larger and thicker.

'Have you brought a pain potion Harry?' Snape asked, Harry didn't know what was wrong with the man's voice but it sounded odd. It wasn't a tone he'd ever had directed at him before. Aunt Petunia was always using it with Dudley when Dudley was fake crying, but then again he didn't think that was a good thing.

'Yeh I've got one but Ron said it doesn't work fast enough.'

'Wait here.' And the next thing he knew Snape's black robes were whipping out the door.

He sat down on the pillows and waited for Snape to get back. The itching feeling he'd first felt had gotten worse now and there was a dull throbbing behind his eyes. His fingers were aching and he had pins and needles in his feet. All of a sudden a sharp pain shot up his back making him almost gasp in surprise.

A moment later Snape was back in the room, holding two potion vials. He handed Harry the pain relief potion. Harry drank it without question, before eyeing the other vial in Snape's hand. He knew that bottle.

'It's a dreamless sleep potion Harry, it would be better if you took it. I know you don't trust me…' he started to say when Harry shook his head.

'It's not that. Both Ron and Draco have gone through this before me. It wouldn't be right to sleep through my transformation when they couldn't.'

Snape hesitated a moment before nodding and placing the vial down on a table.

'It will hurt Harry, even with the potion.'

'I know that. But I still think this is the right way.'

They didn't have time to talk after that. Snape watched as Harry's grimaced. The initial pains weren't the worst but they were bad enough to make someone cry out. He knew that from experience. Even dampened by the potion Harry shouldn't be able to take this so easily.

The pain was only slight at first, he tried not to look at Snape, the man's expression un-nerved him, he almost looked concerned. He felt the itching sensation again but this time he could feel the hairs come through his skin. He wished he could see himself, a boy with fur.

Snape must have known what he wanted, for a moment later he was staring into a conjured mirror. Nothing else had changed other than the fact that he had grown fur. It looked amazing. His long black hair was spread all about him, his eyes bright and wide, he was gasping for breath but he looked…he looked…wow. He was covered from head to toe in patches of browns, golds, blacks and whites. If he was alone he would have removed his shirt and trousers to get a better look at himself, but there was no way he was doing that with Snape in the room.

But then he was falling backwards onto the pillows in pain and he couldn't help screaming as his knee joint gave an audible pop and re-arranged themselves to face the other way. He was panting for breath; the pain had sliced straight through the haze created by the drug…the potion.

His spine lengthened slowly, the bone ripped through the skin and continued to grow, his skin and fur covered it. The pain and the itching combined were nearly unbearable.

He could feel his organs moving around. His chest and ribs compressed to fit them The muscles on his legs became smaller, making his legs appear thinner.

Harry had never been able to feel his ears before, but he felt them now. He felt the skin stretching to a new height and width. His nose broke, the cartilage ripping free and then the bone lengthened outwards, his jaw moving to meet it. His teeth lengthened. He felt the whiskers sprout from his muzzle, then a shift in his eyesight. All of his senses kicked in.

He had a few moments to collect his composure before he went through it all again in reverse. The moment it was over he collapsed onto the pillows exhausted and blacked out, glad he never had to go through that again.

000

Snape had watched Harry the whole time, the boy had screamed eventually, he'd thrashed, cursed and rolled around.

The finished form was nothing short of amazing and then the transformation back to human began and Snape could only watch. To touch him, even to comfort would abort the process and Harry could become stuck half way through the change.

Once he was done he took Harry to the infirmary, telling Madam Pomfrey that he had collapsed in the corridors. He mentioned to her that a few students seemed to have been ill that day and she believed him as by that time Harry's magic had repaired the damage done to his body, he was just exhausted now.

Madam Pomfrey put him to bed and Snape left to find Draco, he knew his Godson was Harry's mate, he'd read it quite by accident in Remus' mind earlier that day, when he was checking for any other blocked memories. He knew that Draco would be worried sick. Luckily, he ran into the boy before he left the dungeons and was able to tell him his mate was fine and then dissuaded him from rushing off to the hospital wing.

They were hiding their relationship as much as he and Remus were. He couldn't allow Draco to throw away his only chance at happiness in their future for such a small worry. He knew how much Draco wanted someone to love him and he wouldn't allow it to be ruined, not even by Draco himself.


	31. Chapter 31

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 30: DA Meeting

Harry Potter stood upon a dais in the ROR. Dressed to the nines in Black jeans as dark as velvet and a tight black t-shirt, his hair was loose and flowing, all the black contrasting perfectly with his golden features and startling green eyes, Harry looked every inch a leader. Draco was in awe of his mate, he stood as if one prepared for anything, his shoulders squared, his legs slightly parted. One hand rested lightly on his thigh, the other held his wand loosely at his side. His gaze was sweeping all of the expectant faces and whenever they left a person, he seemed to have come to a decision about them.

Draco and Blaise were watching everything from the other side of the room. They were under Harry's invisibility cloak and behind several very strong shields. Harry was taking no chances with them. They were to observe every meeting that they could without giving themselves away, so that when Harry taught them they would already know what he was asking. He intended to spend some time with both of them after this meeting.

'Hello and welcome back to the DA!' Harry smiled at the sudden cheers. 'I had hoped that once Umbridge was gone and we had a decent DADA teacher we wouldn't need to meet again. I know a few of you asked to continue our meetings last year and we should have done.' He said whilst looking in Neville's direction.

'But some of you wouldn't have seen the importance with the toad gone. But now, now it's necessary to have the DA again. You could defend yourselves and your homes, your families but there are more people at stake now. The wizarding world is at War. And Hogwarts seems to be at its centre. Not only is Hogwarts one of magic's greatest strongholds, it contains magic's future! Voldemort (as always pause for gasps and small screams) knows that a war would devastate our population. So without us he's fucked. He intends to control Hogwarts to use her protections and to control us!'

He looked round at all of them then, catching their eyes. 'You could leave…go home, but he'd find you eventually and he may hurt those you love to get to you. But here, here we all have a better chance. Here we are protected.'

He paused a moment. 'And then there's me. We all know about Voldemort's obsession with me. He wants to kill me…' his words sent a chill to Draco's chest. 'But he won't! I have no intention of letting him kill me.' He said that last in so adamant a tone that no one in the room doubted him.

'I've learnt more this summer than I knew back then. And if you're willing to learn I'm willing to teach you again.'

A resounding 'Yes!' from over a dozen throats answered him.

Harry's smile was almost blinding. 'Well that's that then. Now this time is gong to be a little different. The situations changed. My opinions have changed. And so that you know why, I am going to tell you some things I have never told anyone.' He wasn't smiling anymore, even though Draco knew why Harry was about to tell them his secrets, he still couldn't believe that he trusted them so much. Things were so different than they were in Slytherin. With that in consideration it was no wonder Draco had started to question whether or not he was actually in the best house.

'Before I was born, a witch made a prophecy, I won't bother telling you exactly what it was she said. All that matters is that in the end it will come down to me and Voldemort. I have to fight him, only I can kill him and I think that while he still lives, only he can kill me. I'm not sure on that point though and I don't really want to test out my theory. Anyway Dumbledore heard it and someone else heard a part of it. That person told Voldemort and he set out to kill me that Halloween night. You'd think I'd hate that night but until I was eleven I never knew I should and I never have. Voldemort came to our door, my dad told my mother to take me and run. They duelled and…he was killed. My Mother couldn't get out of the house. He followed us but my Mother stood in front of me…he killed her when she wouldn't move. A moment later green light was flying at me and then it was bouncing back and hitting him instead of me. He was ripped from his body and gone, leaving me with this scar.' He said tracing it, his footsteps echoed in the silent room.

Every face was riveted upon his and many of them had tears in their eyes and sad expressions. Some like Susan Bone's and Neville Longbottom remembering their own losses. The others just struck by the tone of Harry's voice as he told them things no one else knew.

Only two people reacted differently, both still angry and upset but having heard this all before more worried about _him_ than their own horror. Even Blaise hadn't heard the exact events of that night and he was one of Harry's closest friends. But Blaise wasn't upset at this, he knew it was a hard thing to talk about. It pained him that he had lost his parents to the Dark side and that was nothing compared to what Harry spoke of.

Ron and Draco just watched Harry, wishing they could offer him comfort. Although both of them did spare a glance at Hermione, she was stood between the Patil twins and Lavender Brown. She had tears in her eyes just like they did and acted as though she had never heard any of this before, even though she had. It seemed she had memories of the DA, of training with them but nothing else. She had no idea that it had been her suggestion originally, they had asked her earlier.

'After that Dumbledore became my guardian and many of you will no doubt believe this to be a good thing. But I am not so sure. My Mother had a sister, Petunia Dursley. Dumbledore took me to live with her that very same night. He left me on their doorstep in the middle of the night, just expecting them to take care of me. Never checking on me, not once. How did he know that someone hadn't just come along, picked me up and taken me away. I could have been taken out of the country and I doubt he'd have realised it. His reasoning is that 'while I call home the place where my Mother's blood dwells' Voldemort can't harm me.'

'But Dumbledore didn't take everything into consideration, either that or he didn't care. The later I am more inclined to believe. I haven't voiced my fears about the man to many. You in this room, our absent members and a few other friends are the only ones I trust with the truth. Do you know what my earliest memory of living there is? I remember waking up because I had a nightmare, smiling figures disappearing in green light. I screamed and cried for my Mother as any child will when they wake. But my memory does not end with a Mother coming to comfort me, not even an Aunt reassuring me. No I heard a great bellow from upstairs, my Uncle telling me to 'Shut the hell up, you freak!' and there was no one there with me, except a spider.'

Draco had to turn his eyes away from Harry and look at the others in the room. It was obvious to everyone there that every word spoken by the black haired youth was the truth. Harry seemed to have drawn into himself, talking more to himself than to anyone in the room. His eyes weren't seeing _them_ now, he was seeing his memories instead. Draco wanted to go to him, to take the Gryffindor in his arms and not let him go. But the shields that Harry had thrown up kept him from passing as strongly as they would any curses and hexes.

He saw Ron grimace at the mention of the spider. He saw the horror on Hermione's face as she stood between Parvati and Lavender, her expression just like theirs. Neville and Luna were crying, it was so strange to see her face without that dreamy look.  
The Weaslette was crying also, he could see her trying to get close and sidle up to Harry but Weasley kept holding her back. He'd have to thank him later.

'I like spiders; they lived in the cupboard under the stairs, with me.'

There was instant uproar at his words. Many tried to rush up to Harry, including Draco himself, others grabbed at each other for support. But no one could reach Harry he'd closed himself off from them. Keeping them away, so that he could finish what he started and hopefully never have to go through it all again.

'I always lived in the cupboard under the stairs; I can't remember ever being anywhere else. But I remember the day I left that cupboard, I remember it very well. It was the day I got my Hogwarts letter, it was addressed to me. My first ever letter. It even had my cupboard on it 'Harry Potter, the cupboard under the stairs, number 4 privet drive, little Whinging, Surrey'. I didn't get to read my letter though; they burned it and sent me up to my cousin's second bedroom worried they were being watched. Dumbledore had to have known I was sleeping in a cupboard, surely McGonagall saw it when she sent the letters out and told him. It was days before I got to read my letter. Only when they had took me away, tried to run. Well…' he gave a funny little laugh. 'Beating the freakishness out of me didn't work, ignoring it didn't work, so maybe running away from it would.'

Looking around the room, Draco could see the shock on their faces and on some namely the Gryffindors guilt…that they hadn't noticed anything.

'From Hagrid I heard that I was a wizard and about what had happened to my parents and who I was. The 'Boy who Lived', what a joke. I was just lucky. Ron helped me and…' a quick glance at Hermione. 'So did many other people. Many of them are in this room right now. And others once stood with us.'

There was a soft sigh and then he carried on. 'My point is that Dumbledore knew what my life was like and he didn't care. He didn't want me to leave that place even when I was finally of age. I have looked up these blood wards, of which he spouts so fiercely. He tells me that the protection I get there lasts for the whole year. It does not! That is all a lie. It lasts while I am in residence, no longer. He sends me back there each year to be abused and mistreated because he prefers not to put any personal effort into protecting me himself during the summer. If he does this to me, someone who to all intents and purposes he appears to love…then what has he done to those under his protection that haven't a name or…great deeds…' he sneered. 'to protect them!'

'I ask you, what do you think he would do? I look at my fellow students and I wonder. And I confess my eyes seem to be drawn the most to the house of snakes.' Ignoring their exclamations he carried on. 'The odd house out. How many of you have a friend in Slytherin?' As expected no one raised their hands. 'Who do Slytherins look to other than their own?' Again no one answered.

'They are children of the Dark side and are doubted because of that. I remind you now of the sorting hats first song…the one he sang the year us seventh years were sorted. When the hat spoke of Slytherin, he spoke of cunning. Not of darkness, evilness or the things so many of you have believed them to be. The qualities of Slytherin house, cunning and a certain disregard for the rules. I admit to having that disregard for the rules myself. And I am in Gryffindor. It makes me wonder what other qualities the Slytherin's possess. Dumbledore speaks of house unity, the sorting hat has told us repeatedly to trust in unity. But what is being done about it?' He yelled that last to the entire room. He was breathing heavily as though he had run a marathon, so passionate were his words.

'Nothing!' Ron said. He had waited for the right moment to throw his support to Harry's words and deemed now to be the time. It made others think to hear Ron Weasley agreeing with Harry Potter on unity with the Slytherins. And it made them wonder.

After a moment some of the quicker students realised a few things. Snape was biased towards Slytherin…but didn't someone have to be? Going over their lessons with them, they remembered earning points when they gave a correct answer but…the Slytherins…? The Slytherins received fewer points than any other house. Each house had lessons with the others and each earned points but the Slytherins they realised answered less and less questions every year. It wasn't like Slytherins were thick, they couldn't be it was against their natures. You had to be smart to be cunning, didn't you?'

Draco Malfoy was a Slytherin and he was second in the year. Blaise Zabini, another Slytherin was fourth this year just behind Harry himself, who seemed to have improved drastically so far this year. In fact that was another thing, if a school was trying to promote unity then why did they inform pupils at the end of each week who was doing the best in their assignments so far? Surely knowing another house was beating you intellectually was enough to spur you on, increasing said rivalry. Especially if it was the one house despised by all.

And then there was Quidditch, rivalry grew out of proportion whenever a game was involved. Students hexed each other constantly and all they got was detentions. The teachers could stop it if they really wanted to.

All this led them to believe that Harry was right. And Dumbledore was manipulating them into keeping the Slytherins alienated. But Dumbledore was right wasn't he? All Slytherins were evil weren't they?'

They turned questioning eyes to Harry who seemed to understand what they were asking.

'I want you to go back out into the school and I want you to watch the Slytherins closely. Really look at them, eavesdrop if you have to. Listen to what they talk about, gossip about. Maybe if you do that you will see some good in them. I'm sure they talk about normal things. I'm sure girls talk about shoes, robes and which boys they like just like they do here. And I'm sure everyone talks about Quidditch. Especially after the Prophet reports on the latest league scores. You may even find some of them support the same team as you.'

'If you try, you may realise that not all Slytherins are plotting our demise. I will not lie, some of them may very well be. But if we don't find out, we'll never know.'

He could see a few people nodding. 'And about Dumbledore…' the thoughtful expressions turned angry. 'Outside of this room and outside of these meetings, continue to think of him in a positive light. Or however you thought of him before. He can read your mind if he wishes to. I will be casting a spell on you before you leaves that will not allow you to speak of this to anyone other than those in this room. Neither will it allow you to speak of these things when anyone is within hearing distance. Some people say Dumbledore knows everything…but he doesn't.' Harry said thinking of Krai, who was currently slithering around the edge of the room. Feeling out the occupants and determining their loyalties. He was sure of them of course but the snake wanted to find out for himself. He would not risk his Master, even amongst his Master's friends.

'All we can do about Dumbledore for now is act the same. Act like nothing is different while we train to protect ourselves from him. And he does worry me. He isn't as obvious as the Dark Lord in his schemes and that makes him worse. I don't trust Dumbledore and I haven't since fifth year but now I'm old enough to do something about it. I don't know what he plans but I do know that he will use whomever he can to achieve them. And none of them matter to him really, even me.'

'I think that after Voldemorts gone, he intends to take over. I don't know how he will achieve this but it makes sense to me. Somehow it just fits and I know…somehow I know that he needs me to do it…' he paused a moment, judging their moods. Seeing that they all were behind him he said the final thing he wanted to say that night. 'And so I propose that we change our name. For now I wish the DA to stand for the Defence Association, as one of our number originally suggested. No longer will we be Dumbldore's Army, first of all we fight for ourselves…and each other. But no longer are we his…those in favour?'

A resounding 'yes' filled the room.

'You were amazing.' Draco whispered in his ear, his arms wrapping around Harry's torso, holding him tight as he had wanted to do all night.  
'We didn't get any training done. It took me longer than I expected it to.'  
'You achieved more than that tonight. You told them many personal things love, Dumbledore tells them nothing. They remember their first year, with the stone.' Harry just looked at him confused.

'He told us the third floor was off limits. Not why, everything else he gave us a reason. He told you nothing. He doesn't give us reason to trust him. He doesn't trust us. But you…you told us all something that, quite frankly is extraordinary. The life you've had, it makes you that much stronger in all our eyes.'

'And what happens if I fail, if my strength fails and you all suffer because you know to fear Dumbledore when no one else does?'

'Oh Harry, you're going to win. I can feel it. I know it.'  
'You just say that because you are my mate.'  
'Technically I am not your mate until after we have mated. But even if I wasn't do you really think I could miss what you are?'  
'And what am I?' Harry whispered pressing back into Draco's warmth. They were alone now. The ROR was deserted, Ron and Blaise being the last to leave, both of them talking animatedly as they left.

'A Leader!' Draco said with certainty. He turned Harry towards him, pulling him close. It was not often he was the one doing this. Harry was his dominant, he was the sub and he loved being the one Harry protected. But tonight he would reassure Harry.

Not many people realised how easily the roles reversed in a dom/sub relationship. Nothing was concrete, only sexually would they stay the same. In the bed Draco would always be the sub. There was only one time in a subs life when they were allowed to be dominant. That sweet moment when they were claiming. The thought aroused him terribly. Harry would take him first, asserting his will. Demanding Draco submit. He would fight it of course but Harry would win. And when Harry took him the initial bond would form.

The fist penetration signalled Harry's dominance over Draco. If Draco had been Muggle nothing further would occur. But when Wizards bonded, it was a partnership. It wasn't a relationship set in rules like those of man and woman. It was equal, the roles of males could switch.

Being a wizard Draco needed to take Harry or their bond wouldn't be complete. Draco would take Harry to show he accepted him. And that would be the only time Draco would ever top.

He wanted to know Harry in that way, but he wanted to be owned by him more. It was his nature to want that. He wasn't a creature, or at least he didn't think he was. There was plenty of time left for something to manifest. He and Harry did share the same blood, in some way. So it was quite possible but they wouldn't know for a while.

No he wasn't a creature (now) but that didn't stop him from rubbing himself against Harry, wanting the others scent to cling to his flesh. To prove he was owned, dominated…loved.

'I'm not a leader Draco. I'm just doing what I have to do.' Harry said his breath hitching at Draco's actions.

'You are Harry.'  
'No, a leader has to be strong…'  
'You are strong, stronger than anyone I've ever met. And I've stood before the Dark Lord. He has a commanding presence, but not even he…who has had infinitely more experience could have held that room the way you did tonight.' Harry just looked at him. 'You don't understand the effect you have on people do you Harry? When they look at you, they see a leader, a beautiful figure that radiates peace and has a certain quality…a man who is approachable unlike so many other leaders. How many times have you been sat at the table for Christmas dinner, Dumbledore spoke to a first year and the first year was awestruck that such a man was talking to him. They would act the same way if he spoke to them again. But you…with you they would be awed but quickly they would see that certain… something that you possess. Just look at the Creevey's who followed you around everywhere. Do they do that now?'

Harry frowned as he thought. 'Collin doesn't follow me about anymore but they still go all giddy when I talk to them.'  
'That's it. Because you talk to them. They know who you are. Who doesn't 'the boy who lived' and yet you talk to them. Laugh and joke with them, even I bet advise them. Does Dumbledore do anything like that? Only for you. No one else. Why would he? You said it yourself, Dumbledore sees us all as a means to an end, nothing more. He doesn't see people who have lives, wants, loves…he just sees what he can get out of them. And that's why you and only you are going to win this war and anything that comes after. You care!'

Harry didn't agree or disagree. He did think that in a way Draco had a point. But there was more to worry about than physical enemies. He had a chance against them but how was he to fight something he couldn't see? Something that scared him far more than either of his enemies. The curse was a certainty, whereas death by AK was only a possibility.

He knew Draco was ready to take that next step in their relationship. Draco had feared sex and relationships after he'd learned the role intended for him amongst the deatheaters. But the moment he knew Harry was his mate his body had known, it had just taken his mind a little while to catch up. But with thoughts like that in his head Harry couldn't blame Draco. Yes Draco might have been ready. But he wasn't!

He did want to bond with Draco but what Ron called his 'hero complex' got in the way. How could he bond with Draco when their deaths seem so certain. Maybe he could defeat Voldemort, but he had no idea what that would do to him. How depleted his magic would be. How could he fight off Dumbledore when he wasn't ever sure he'd survive the first encounter? Dumbledore wouldn't act until Voldemort was dead, he knew that. And to force a conflict when he didn't know the others plans, would be suicide. Did Dumbledore even intend to kill him, could there be worse things?

No Dumbledore didn't want him able to challenge him.

And then after he'd done all that there was the Deatheaters and the Loyal Order members to fight and a curse no one knew about. How could he tie Draco to him when he could be dead within the week? And if either of them acted so soon, he knew he would have no chance. He and Krai had had no chance to continue their training. They would have to start soon. Gods, he was going to be busy. The DA, school, Quidditch and extra training, not to mention those few precious moments with Draco that he had no intention of ever giving up.

If they didn't bond Draco had more chance of surviving his death. If they did, then he would die along with Harry.  
He would put it off for as long as he possibly could.

They stole a few kisses before they had to leave again.

Harry was thoroughly sick of it all. Of sneaking around, not being able to tell anybody. He was sick and tired of the snake faced bastard that dogged his heals. And that twinkle eyed brother of a goat fucker who stood with a supporting hand on _his_ back and a knife in the other.

But most of all he was sick and tired of the danger to his mate. And worse it was a danger he could see never ending. Even if they got rid of these problems, more would arise. He was the 'boy who lived' he attracted trouble. But Draco was worth anything and everything fate could throw at him!

They would be together! No force in this world would stop them, not wrinkled old flesh or ancient magic. He wouldn't allow it.


	32. Chapter 32

Thank you all so much for the reviews.

RL has finally gotten a little better so I thought I'd better update.

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Chapter 31: Friends and a Dream

A sign, a dark twisted sign hanging from a wrought iron frame, attached to dirty brick walls near to boarded up windows.

Rough hewn stone walls closing in around him.

The inner circle stretched around the perimeter of the cavern surrounding him and his friends, all with their wands drawn.

A high pitched laugh breaking the silence and a tall thin snake like man stepping out from behind the deatheaters.  
'Harry Potter again you hide behind your friends.' The hissing voice echoed in the cavern. 'Too afraid to face me?'

His feet carried him forward, his arm held his wand high. 'You wish.' His voice seemed to say of its own accord. Someone behind him snorted.  
'Original Potter.' Draco said behind his back…

'Avada Kedavra!' Two voices yelled. He heard Draco scream.

A beam of light joined two wands together, phoenix song split the air. And little pieces of light were edging closer and closer to one wand.

There was a screamed 'Harry!'

And then Harry Potter woke up.

Sweat soaked his skin, he gasped for breath looking around the room. That wasn't a vision. A dream just a dream. It was a dream.  
But it didn't feel like a dream.  
He knew it wasn't a vision, his scar remained normal, the skin was not inflamed and there was no pain.

There was a tightness in his chest, a sense of dread. He kept replaying Draco's screams over and over in his mind. His anger grew. There was a rushing in his ears, the sounds of the screams obscured and distant, like his dementor induced memories of his mother's death. Green light surrounded him and for a moment there was intense pain in the joints of his fingers and his back ached something fierce. When the light faded, he found his throat raw and the sheets beneath his hands shredded. He was thankful that he often slept with silencing charms around his bed so he could have quiet conversations with Krai. Luckily the snake was out hunting at the moment, who knows what would have happened if he hadn't been.

He didn't dwell on Draco's screams, he couldn't. The mere thought made his anger rise. He couldn't afford for anything to ignite it again. It was hard enough when they had to pretend to hate each other and hex each other in the hallways. He could barely restrain himself when Ron was forced into verbal sparring matches with the blond. He wanted to attack Ron, to slam the red head against the wall, sinking his claws into flesh and tasting the living river.

He was really starting to think he should get some calming potions from Professor Snape.  
The truth was, Harry Potter was worried he was going to lose control.

Looking back at the dream and avoiding thoughts of Draco, he knew something should have clicked. Something should have just clicked into place but it hadn't. He felt like there was something important in that dream but he just couldn't grasp it.

Eventually Harry Potter gave up and went back to sleep but not before recording every detail of the dream to go over again later.

It was Saturday morning. Yesterday night he had recalled the DA and today Ron as the new Quidditch captain would be holding tryouts for the team. With so many of their players leaving last year they really needed a team overhaul. Harry's position as Seeker was safe so he and Ron would be making the decisions. Professor McGonagall who had a vested interest in the team would also be watching the tryouts. So far they had Seamus, Dean, Ginny, three sixth years and two fifth years trying out for the Chaser positions. Ginny and Seamus had played last year of course but they still had to go through a tryout to make the team.

Harry was the only one not performing a true tryout; no one had come forward wanting to tryout for the Seeker position so his place on the team was assured. There was a guy trying out for Keeper, Harry had seen him play before in other tryouts and he didn't think Ron had anything to worry about.

The Beaters Kirke and Sloper were also relatively safe, they'd gained a lot of experience since they first joined the team and were slowly coming up to Weasley twin's standards.

In the end it ended up just how they thought it would.

Ginny and Seamus were reinstated as Chasers, Dean joined them because of how well he worked with them. But then again that was expected, when one of the Chasers was his girlfriend and the other was his best friend it was kinda a given. Harry hadn't even known that Dean had done any flying other than first year, but Dean had obviously been practicing.

Kirke and Sloper were once again the Beaters for the team, putting on quite an impressive display that stopped all of the potential Chasers bar the three chosen from scoring. The fifth year keeper was no match for Seamus and Ginny, he did manage to catch one of Dean's attempts at goal though. But with Ron the Chasers really had to put their brooms through their paces to best him. And with Harry as Seeker they had a very good line-up and a good shot at the cup.

Later that afternoon, Harry, Draco, Ron and Blaise were in the ROR. Harry was taking the two Slytherins through the basic defensive spells that had served both him and the DA well over the years. Draco was a little rusty on the disarming spell and Blaise seemed to still have trouble summoning. Harry knew that not being able to do them correctly didn't mean they were weak or stupid it just meant they had concentrated more on learning all of the new spells they'd been taught than practicing their old ones.

After a bit of practice they would be back on par.

Of course there was a bit of fooling around as well, a bit of kissing on Harry and Draco's parts and a few frustrated looks from Blaise. In one of his and Harry's mock duels Draco had cast the _'serpensortia'_ spell and they had all had a good laugh when Harry started translating the conversation between the new snake and Krai.

Krai was quite happy to see another snake. He ran into a few when he went out hunting around the lake, but usually both he and the other snake were busy hunting and so couldn't really stop for a chat. Also it was usually night time when he was finally able to hunt and though it was the best time for Krai it wasn't exactly the safest and he hated leaving his Master alone for long.

He went to every class with his Master. He went to meals as well and either sat in his Master's lap and was fed pieces of chicken by his Master or the red one Ron. Often he would glance towards the head table, but whenever he did the Headmaster man was not watching. Krai though felt sure that he had been.

The old man worried Krai, why had he made no moves? Krai was sure that the old man knew he was there, despite all the wards and spells his Master had cast upon him.

There was nothing else that could be done to hide him. He refused to tell his Master that the old one knew he was there. If he did his Master would send him away, back to the Manor. And Krai couldn't leave his Master. Not now, not in the nest of his enemy. The old one went everywhere, he had seen him. He often came to his Master's dorm and listened to what they spoke off. He appeared in classrooms and the potions labs even.

That was why he dared not leave his Master alone for long. Who knew what would happen if he wasn't there to distract his Master and his Master's friends so that they didn't reveal anything. All of his Master's secrets would have been known within a day if he hadn't.

Surprisingly Krai actually considered this a good thing. It had taught his Master to be more cautious. The Room of Requirement had been most secure. But Krai had taken no chances and had patrolled the room, leaving the meeting to his Master. Master's mate had been right, Master was a leader. He had no worries about his Masters abilities in that area. And his Master's confidence had come on leaps and bounds in such a short time. Finding his Mate had given him a much needed boost. His Master didn't feel so alone anymore. There was someone there to support him, confidence was not a problem when you had that kind off person behind you.

No now the only problems they had were the actions of their enemies. If the old one or the evil one acted before his Master was ready…  
There were options, but ones he didn't want to consider yet. For now his Master was focused on training his mate and friends.

Krai agreed with this, for the more people trained the more people there were to protect his Master.

His Master had learnt much during the last few weeks, but there were still things he could teach him. They'd had to put their training on hold for the last two weeks. Other things had been more important.

But now…his Master needed practice more than anything. And the friends weren't suitable because they didn't know enough to test him. Maybe he could get his Master to approach the Dark one, or the wolf and ask them to train with him.

Draco and Blaise were in the Slytherin Common room. They had just had their first proper training session with Harry and both boys had been impressed. Harry was an amazing teacher. Afterwards they had sat down and made plans on what to do next. With the DA up and running again Harry was winning more and more people over to his side. The last meeting, only the second so far this year had seen a further increase in number. The Creevey brothers had brought in some of the younger years, as they had said it was important to start them off earlier, as the younger they were the easier it would be for the Dark Lord to turn them.

Several of the older students had approached their friends in other houses. Even though Harry had been all in favour of new members he had conceded that there was no way he could train them all personally. The success of the DA had come from almost one on one instruction, when you increased the numbers you lost that. Because of that Harry had decided to delegate at the next meeting. Which was scheduled for the weekend.

Harry had decided to divide the original DA into teams. The original DA would work within their groups to refine each others spell work. Even though they were all on a pretty even level, some spells came more readily to certain people than others. Harry was going to arrange the group so that they could concentrate on refining their techniques while he taught the new recruits. The better the technique the less likely a deatheater could take advantage of a mistake. And that was important, mistakes made the spells slower or cancelled them out completely.

He would still teach the older members, he would train the entire DA in new spells once the new members were up to scratch.

Harry wanted the two of them to sound out the Slytherins. Harry wanted them to join the DA also. He didn't intend to have them at the meetings with the other students yet, but to teach them separately and then integrate them into the main group when the others had lost their prejudices. But to do this Draco and Blaise needed to sound out the Slytherins and find those not loyal to the Dark Lord. This wouldn't be an easy task, it was a well known fact that many of the Dark Lords supporters were Slytherins. Because of that the younger generation would not willingly reveal their loyalties and would hide behind that persona even if they didn't want to. After all it was better tp have only one side as your enemies than to be stuck between both.

It had taken Draco forever to break free of his Father. Blaise had done it long ago though he had admitted it to no one but his friend. They were pretty limited in their choices, who did they approach. One wrong move and everything could be ruined.

They knew who they wanted to start with but they were worried. They'd watched Harry and Ron, seen Hermione's withdrawal from them. And they didn't want the same to happen to them. They were a trio much like the golden trio. The two of them and Pansy. And it would hurt them more than anything if Pansy was still loyal to the Dark Lord.

They were still talking quietly when Pansy plopped down beside them, much like she always did, wedging herself between them and squashing them in the process.

'So are you going to tell me what's been going on recently?'  
'Don't know what you mean Pansy dear.' Blaise smirked.

'Uh huh. So you're telling me nothing strange is going on.' She lowered her voice further for the next part. 'You're telling me that Draco isn't staring after Potter like some lovestruck idiot and damn me if Potter isn't staring right back. You two keep disappearing all the time. Strangely enough this usually coincides with a disappearance by Potter and Weasley. Draco disappears the most though and you…' she said giving Blaise a pointed look. 'Give me some of the most idiotic bloody excuses I've ever heard for his disappearances! Add to that the fact that whenever Draco and Potter start a fight they seem to wince more at every comment they say themselves and not the ones said by each other. Also I've started to notice some of the students in the other houses giving Slytherins some rather interested looks. This sudden interest is annoying me I don't dare say anything anymore without casting privacy spells. Now tell me what the hell is going on!'

That last was as close to an order as you could possibly get. Draco and Blaise shared a look. If Pansy had noticed all that, how much had other people noticed? Pansy was very observant; she was like Blaise a natural spy. And Draco had often acted on the information she provided. She was his eyes and ears in the girl's dorms. Just as Blaise took the role in the boy's dorm.

Could they trust Pansy? She had kept her ears to the ground, giving off an impression of a typical airhead only interested in clothes while she ferreted around for all the secrets she could get her tiny little hands on.

He would have said Pansy was completely loyal to the Dark Lord, but she had been loyal to him first. They had been friends since they could talk, all three of them. Would her loyalty to her friends mean more to her than that forced upon her by her parents? Did she even feel like she was forced into the role?

He didn't want to lose his friend. He didn't want their trio to go the way of the golden one. But they had to talk to her, they couldn't risk her finding out their loyalties on her own and reporting to the Dark Lord. And she would figure it out on her own, she just needed a bit more time.

'Pansy we need to talk. At midnight meet us down here.'

Tomorrow was Monday, well technically today was Monday but that didn't really matter. The Common room was empty, all of the students in bed and ready for the next day. They had double potions first and their head of house expected them to be awake and refreshed, ready to show off their superior potions skills. No one would defy their head of house. Only these three dared but if Sev did catch them, the man would let it slide, he knew they only stayed up to talk over important matters. But in this case they had already been to Sev to get a bottle of veritaserum and to get his assurances that he would stay away from the Common room that night. Technically Sev should have been there, ready to obliviate Pansy if she proved loyal to the Dark Lord. But it was safer for the man to remain in his rooms as much as possible.

With Sev's mind so fragile from the onslaught of imperio, they couldn't risk the man making a mistake in front of Pansy. It would be disastrous if she learned about Sev's loyalties.

Sev had been trying to convince Draco to break away from the Dark Lord for years. He'd whispered in his ear whenever Draco would run to him after his Father had punished him. Sev was his Godfather and he wanted to see Draco safe, the man had protected him many times. And he would do the same for the man now. If Pansy proved loyal to the Dark Lord he would do what he had to do.

Pansy came into the Common room, bundled up against the nights chill in a thick, fluffy green dressing gown with silver trim. Taking a chance she said something she had wanted to say for years.

'I am so sick of wearing nothing but black, silver and green!' Draco and Blaise just stared at her and for a moment she worried that she may have come to the wrong conclusion. Then Draco smiled and her fears ebbed.

'It's getting harder isn't it my dear?'  
'It is.' she replied squeezing herself into the chair between them. They often sat like this, whenever they were alone or in particular need of comfort. Sometimes it was lonely being a Slytherin, they may be snakes but they were still young. They needed comfort just like other children. They weren't exactly children anymore but still…it was important.

She rested her head against Blaise's shoulder, her hand gripped Draco's.  
'It wasn't so bad before the Dark Lord came back. This whole business of showing unity, showing our support for the cause. I hate it. If I am speaking out of turn and you are still loyal I ask that you let me have my say before you take this back to him.' She sighed, when they remained silent. 'I don't want to live like this. It's not a life, it's a prison. Wearing no colours but green and silver, being good little snakes!' she spat the last word, surprising them with her bitterness.

'I find myself looking back to fourth year and the yule ball, we were happy that night. We had fun, we laughed at Weasley's robes and Potter's dancing if I'd have known it would all be ruined I would have left then and never come back. They want me to take the Mark soon, no matter what they are loyal to a fault. I look around at all of the faces, they're all shadowed, showing loyalty to a fault like any good slytherin should. And I feel like screaming. Sometimes the ringing in my ears gets so loud I don't know how I stand it and how no one hears it!'

She fell silent, tears rolling down her cheeks. Pansy was one of those girls who could cry and still look relatively normal, no red cheeks or puffy eyes. But today her sobs were far more violent than they had seen before and she couldn't help sniffling, her dignity forgotten in the face of her emotions. Draco had felt that way before. He'd felt that build up of pressure, that mix of anger and helplessness that just made you want to weep and bang your head against a table. He slipped his hand out of Pansy's but had it around her shoulders before she could pull away. She launched her head at his shoulder and wept, Blaise took her hand and massaged it in his own.

A moment later she pulled back, slipping her hand into his robes and pulling out the small vial of the truth serum.  
'You intended to use this one me?'  
'We did but we won't. We believe you Pansy. We trust you.'

'I know you do but every so often the thought will pop into your minds. You'll ask yourselves, question my loyalty. And I will question yours. Take a drop now, we all will. One drop, enough of a compulsion to tell and enough for us to know a falsehood.'

'Very well.' They each took a drop. It was true what they had said, they did believe Pansy, but that small assurance would take care of any niggling doubts that could pop up at awkward moments.

The potion didn't take long to wear off. And once the feeling was gone they set about telling Pansy all about what had happened so far. Blaise told her that he had been friends with Harry since last year. Draco told her about Harry being his mate. Blaise then preceded to tease Pansy about her never getting Draco now, the teasing was good natured and a usual part of their banter. Draco and Pansy had never liked each other in that way but it was expected for a Slytherin girl to try and make the best match. And since Draco was the best match and Pansy was his friend, they had decided to pretend to be interested to keep her parents off her back.

'Oh stop it Blaise, I don't want Draco.' She smirked. 'I think I'm ready to branch out and try something different. Maybe a lion…Draco has his own Gryffindor and I have my eye on one as well.'

'It better not be a red head!' Blaise growled.  
Pansy smirked again, she loved getting under Blaise's skin. All you had to do to Draco was say 'Potter' and you got a reaction, fair to well the reaction was different now but either way it still worked. It was fun watching Draco blush.

'Oh, someone's interested in a little red head is he? Hhhmmm but which red head?' she smiled. Blaise looked at Draco for help but the blonde just smirked at him. 'It isn't the Weaselette, you don't swing that way. And you're so vain you'd never go out with anyone that looked as good as you…'  
'I am not vain and he definitely looks better than me!' Blaise said indignantly.

'Well well, I think you just answered my question. It's Ron Weasley isn't it? I suppose it could be one of his brothers but I doubt it. It is him isn't it?'  
'Yes!' Blaise forced out through gritted teeth.  
'Good.'  
'Who do you like then?' Blaise asked her.  
'I'm quite partial to men with black hair and…'  
'Don't even think about it Pansy!' Draco interrupted angrily.  
'And brown eyes.' Pansy went on as though she couldn't hear him. 'I've had enough of macho men, who feel the need to keep women in their place. Too many of them are in this house. I want to give a nice, sweet guy a try, someone without a mean bone in their body.' She smiled.

'Who is it?'  
'Neville.'  
'Longbottom?' they both exclaimed.  
'Aye. He's kind of sweet. Snape's put him with me a few times in potions. His hands shake throughout the whole lesson. That's what goes wrong with his potions, his shaking hands usually mean he adds more to the potion than necessary. If he could get his nerves under control he might be pretty good at it.'

'I can't believe we all like Gryffindors!' Draco exclaimed.  
'Be happy honey. You have your Gryffindor.' Pansy said bitterly.  
'You'll have yours too. I'll help you both get them. I'm pretty sure Ron likes Blaise anyway. So that one won't be too hard. You Pansy will have to come and talk to Harry. He's going to love you.' The other two laughed when he winced at his own choice of words. 'He'll sound out Longbottom for you I know it.'  
'Thanks Draco.' She said giving him a hug, she did the same for Blaise before asking cheekily. 'So what are our orders captain?'

Draco swatted the back of her head before replying. 'Both of you get under the woodwork. Find out as much as you can. We need to know who we can trust and we need to know it fast. If you see the other houses watching or trying to listen in do your damned best to talk about anything normal. What you're going to do in the holidays, that sort of thing. And make sure you divert the attentions of other Slytherins so they don't notice the other houses activities and start a fight. It's a good idea, but the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs aren't exactly inconspicuous. The Ravenclaws hardly blink when they're studying something and the Hufflepuffs get so nervous they drop their books.'

'We'll do it.'  
'Good and remember nothing has changed on the outside. Don't talk to anybody about this without discussing it with me first. And remember if you run into Harry, Ron or Neville in the hallways…' he paused hesitating. 'Act as you've always done.'

.

Please R & R


	33. Chapter 33

A/N…I'm really sorry it took me so long to update this fic. My only defence is that real life has been kicking me in the head the last two years and unfortunately writing had to take a backseat to my problems. Things are getting better now, so hopefully I'll be able to get into more regular updates again. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and is still reading this, you are all amazing!

This chapter is the first of three time skip chapters I have written. This story was getting a lot longer than I ever thought it would be and I needed to speed up and get to Halloween. So here ya go. This chapter actually covers the final week of September.

Oh and in the first book a character called 'Moon' was sorted, the version I have gave no indication as to the characters sex or house and since I cant remember the character being mentioned afterwards…in this Moon will be a girl and a slytherin, Dahlia Moon. Going with a flower theme. Also I'm pretty sure Daphne Greengrass is in Harry's year, if not then bear with me, I needed a few slytherin girls.

Chapter 32: The Passing of Time part 1

_23/09…The Slytherin Common Room_

'Ok Pansy, Blaise. What have you been able to find out?' Draco asked them the moment they knew the room was secure. They didn't have long; they had to make it quick.

'The girls are pretty much open to persuasion. Out of all of them Millicent seems the most likely to stick with the Dark Lord-'

'With her parents being inner circle that doesn't really come as much of a shock.' Blaise interrupted.

Shooting him a glare Pansy continued. 'Daphne and Dahlia will go wherever the other does.'

'They are in a relationship, correct?' Draco asked thinking.

'Yes. If we can talk Daphne round Dahlia will follow.'

'See what you can do about that. You've been her friend for years Pansy, if anyone can do it you can. For now don't make any overtures towards Millicent. We may be able to get her through her boyfriend.' He turned an enquiring gaze to Blaise.

'No chance. Theo is a devout follower of the Dark Lord, there's no doubt of it. He has that same fervour in his eyes that his parents have. There's no way we can change his mind.'

'Very well, assume Millicent is a lost cause also. We don't need either of them figuring anything out. I know she's your friend Pansy but we can't risk you or our new opinions being exposed. Concentrate on the other two.' He waited a moment. 'What about Crabbe and Goyle?'

Blaise hesitated. 'As far as I can tell they're still devoted to the Dark Lord. But they're followers; they may be just following your lead. Very little independent thought goes on in their minds.'

'Even the weak minded understand the concept of loyalty Blaise. All that remains to be seen is whether they feel they owe me their loyalty or their parents.' He sighed. 'For now make no overtures to them. It's too dangerous with Theo being in the same dorm anyway. For now we will wait and watch. Pansy, be careful with the girls. Don't give any hint of what you are doing to Millicent. Be subtle in your dealings with the girls. You'll have to time this carefully. We can't have them figuring this out before we're ready for them to do so.'

They quickly went over the rest of their plans. Yesterday Pansy had talked with Potter. She couldn't join them in their lessons; they needed her to cover for Draco and Blaise in the dorms.

Blaise was a good spy but he couldn't fool Pansy. The girl could sift out a needle sized piece of truth from a haystack of bullshit. They trusted her to keep their backs covered and in return they would teach her all they had learned under Harry.

Pansy hesitated before asking her next question. 'Is Pot-Harry aware of who he actually is?'

Draco was quiet for a moment, thinking. 'I'm not sure, I think he knows some things but I don't think he realises how important he is yet.'

_25/09…Remedial Potions_

Harry Potter barely dodged the curse. Snape was relentless, not letting up for a moment to let Harry catch his breath, but pressing his advantage to defeat him. A few minutes later and Harry's wand was lodged firmly in Snape's hand. Harry was on his knees, breathing heavily.

Krai slid up to him and hissed reassuringly.

_That was very good Master. In time you will be able to defeat him._ Harry replied.

I doubt it.

'What did he say Potter?' Snape asked, after watching the two silently stare at each other for a while.

'He said that I was very good and that in time I would be able to defeat you, but I don't think I agree.'

Snape smiled. 'No he's right. The power's there, there's force behind your attacks. You just need to work on stamina and speed. But whilst refining your technique try to think.'

'Sir?'

'What do you do after you've successfully blocked a spell from me?' Not giving him chance to answer Snape pressed on. 'You step forward, trying to gain ground.'

'And that's wrong?'

'Yes. In swordplay doing so is more likely to get you killed. You leave yourself open to attack; you should press your advantage under a barrage of your own attacks, not after your opponents. It's the same with magic, there's no point gaining ground in a duel, the further a spell has to travel the less powerful it is and it's more likely you'll be able to dodge it. Only close with the enemy when they are distracted or you are certain of victory. When you've blocked an attack, you should immediately move, change position. I picked up on this weakness after only a few minutes. In a duel for my life I would send a curse at you, a low level one so that I didn't waste too much power and follow it up immediately with a more powerful curse. You focus on blocking the first curse without paying attention to your surroundings. Even as you block that curse you should be looking past it, to the next attack. If you remain focused on that one attack the other will catch you out.'

Harry nodded slightly; he could see the sense in that.

Snape gave him a moment to catch his breath before they resumed duelling. The problem was that trying to think made him even slower in his reactions and he was down and out much faster than he had been the last time.

'You're learning Harry.' Harry smiled despite himself; he still found it strange hearing his name coming from Snape's lips. He was too used to being called 'Potter' or 'insolent brat' or any other derogatory term. But he'd have to get used to it. Although Snape was still playing a role everywhere bar his rooms, the changes in his manner were evident whenever Harry stepped into the room.

Harry had been worried for Snape. The man was acting however he wanted in his room because he felt safe but after Krai had told him of Dumbledore's spying he had feared that his Professor would be found out.

He had told his worries to the man earlier that night and had been relieved to find his fears baseless. While the wards on student accommodations and classrooms allowed teachers to come and go whenever they wished, the wards on the accommodations of the Professor's did not. Even though it made him happy that Snape was relatively safe from Dumbledore's spying when in his rooms, it worried him that Dumbledore had so much access to the school. It made things even more difficult.

They couldn't risk Dumbledore finding out about their small resistance. It explained how Dumbledore had always seemed to know about things before being told. But it couldn't explain every incident. Harry knew there were such things as monitoring spells; he had researched them last year for a class. They were a fairly recent invention, only being created in the last decade or so. They could monitor any place, as long as boundaries were specified. The only thing that couldn't be directly monitored was a person.

Meaning Dumbledore couldn't place a monitoring spell on Harry and hear everything he said throughout the day. He would only be able to monitor him in the specific locations in which the spells existed. There couldn't be too many of them because such spells would interfere with a building's wards. If he was Dumbledore, he would have placed them in each of the four common rooms and selected dormitories. One in the Great hall…which could be the reason why the teachers seemed to know of an impending fight before the first punch or hex was even thrown. He remembered thinking about Professor McGonagall's ability to sense trouble in first year. The other's he would place in the main corridors.

Harry visibly started when he realised the implications of that. If Dumbledore had monitoring spells in the dorms then he had heard everything they had said there. He knew about Krai, He knew they were on to him. And he knew exactly who was against him. How often had they spoken of the DA in those dorms? Too often to count. And since the events of fifth year Dumbledore had known exactly who was a member.

Krai saw the distress on his Master's face and asked him what was wrong.

_He knows doesn't he? He knows everything._ Harry paused thinking. _But if he knows why hasn't he done anything yet?_ Krai hesitated. _He does know about me. He has known almost since the first day._ Harry asked angrily. _You could have…_Krai interrupted. _You would have left me behind. And what good would that be to you Master. I need to be with you. It is the job of a familiar to be with their Master. To guide them until such time as they no longer needed it._ Harry exclaimed.

Knows what Master?

Dumbledore knows about you, he knows about the DA. He could stop us at any moment.

He knows some things Master but not everything…

Why didn't you tell me?

Could have stayed at the Manor.

But you're in danger here.

_We are all in danger Master. You most of all. Dumbledore wants you under his control._

Why? Why does he want me?

You are powerful Master, more powerful than you realise. And something about your creature blood intrigues him. It makes you even more valuable to his plans.

Being Draco? That's why he wants me. What's so special about that? I mean I know you said it was rare, you said something about Merlin. What's going on?

I can't tell you Master. You wouldn't believe me. You'd deny it. Maybe even refuse it and that would be disastrous.

Harry was almost ready to yell out loud. He knew Krai meant well, the snake was more of a friend now than a teacher. He offered advice when needed but most of all companionship. But Harry was sick and tired of people knowing more about his life than he did. Dumbledore had done it and now Krai did it. He knew there was a difference in intent, he could feel it. But that didn't matter. He had a right to control his own life and damn it if he hadn't thought he was.

Everything he had done over the last week or two had been his decision. Taking lessons from Snape was the only thing Krai had suggested he do. And he couldn't fault the idea he had been thinking about it himself. But then Krai lets this bombshell slip! More secrets, more hidden truths. He couldn't believe this. He had never before been angry with Krai, he had been a little upset over the creature bloods thing and when he found out that the snake had been writing letters to Draco. But when Draco had forgiven the snake so had he. After all he'd got them together much quicker than they ever would have on their own.

But this! He'd had enough of being played with, manipulated. He didn't care anymore whether it was for his own good or not. He had had enough.

_Krai._ the snake replied hesitantly. 

Yes Master

I want you to go.

Master?

I want you to leave me alone!

Krai hesitated only a moment before bowing his head and slithering away towards the door, his polished scales flashing all sorts of colours in the light. It reminded Harry forcibly of the first day they'd met. How he'd seen that flash of colour, that hint of a lightning bolt in his pattern and had known somehow how important that moment was. Now, he didn't see that bolt of lightning and it brought a sick feeling to his stomach.

Krai paused at the door. His head winding back to face Harry.

_The Room of Requirement is safe._

And with that the snake was gone. Harry felt almost heartsick, as if some vital part of himself had left him. But his anger was still there, burning hotly in his chest and he couldn't forgive Krai…not yet anyway.

He sat in silence for a while before finally moving, to be met with the gaze of his professor. He had forgotten Snape was in the room. Snape didn't ask him any questions; he just motioned for Harry to leave.

The walk back to Gryffindor Tower was quiet and lonely. It was moments like these, when the corridors were silent and empty of students that he could really talk with Krai. The snake had to remain hidden throughout most of the day and communicating with him was always a risk they didn't take, in case Harry somehow slipped.

Walking through those corridors he missed the voice in his mind and the heavy weight of the snake's body on his shoulders. He missed him, but he couldn't forgive him…not yet.

_28/09…A Meeting_

It had been several days since Harry had told Krai to leave, he hadn't seen the snake since.

That night he had been expecting to find him curled up asleep in his bed or to see him the next morning at the breakfast table, eating the bits of food Ron offered him. Ron had asked him where Krai was, Harry hadn't known what to tell him.

It had been three days since he had seen Krai, it worried him that the snake wasn't coming to the Great Hall to get his food. The snake had always complained about it not being safe enough to hunt properly.

If Krai had lived in the wild he would eat small mammals, snakes, lizards, fish, squid or eels. After a successful hunt he would most likely not eat for a few days. It wasn't necessary for a snake to hunt every day.

But as Krai was a familiar and using magic daily, often to stay undetected, he had to eat more often. The constant use of magic had made him use more physical energy than a normal snake and he needed to eat more to replenish that energy level. Because of that his metabolism had changed, enabling him to digest food and absorb nutrients on a much quicker level.

It was unsafe for him to go out hunting as often as he needed to. So Harry and Ron took turns feeding Krai little bits of meat at every meal. If Krai wasn't coming to the Great Hall, he had to be outside.

Harry knew Krai wouldn't draw attention by slipping in and out of the castle as often as he needed to do. He would either severely restrict his feedings to nights, when it was easier to slip away undetected. He found it better to hunt at night, it was in his nature. But he was used to feeds throughout the day now. Would it affect him, having to change those patterns? It had only been a few weeks, so maybe not.

Or he would have moved out of the castle all together and be living in an abandoned burrow somewhere near the lake. That one seemed more likely. It made Harry even more worried than he had been.

Krai may be a large snake, a snake with venom but there were things out there on the grounds that were more dangerous than a snake. The thestrals for one. Harry often saw them on the grounds at night, hunting for birds and other things.

There were other creatures too. Who knew what lurked in the Forbidden Forest, did the Acromantula ever venture outside it. And there were Hagrid's creatures, not to mention the more mundane threats like hawks and other birds of prey that might go for a snake.

He looked down at his untouched breakfast, he didn't like what Krai had done. But hadn't Harry done it himself over the years, it wasn't the same thing but he had kept quiet about hearing the voices in the wall during second year. Only telling Ron and Hermione. And what about the Dursley's? He had kept that secret from people as well. Until recently when he had decided it was necessary to reveal it. Was Krai doing anything different?

In a way yes. The secrets Harry had kept from people had no personal bearing on their lives, only his, but the things Krai refused to tell him, they were about him. He had a right to know them.

He may not like it, but he knew Krai. He knew the snake must have a reason; he wouldn't have done it without one. He missed Krai, the last few days had been so quiet. He felt bad about sending the snake away and even worse when he realised that even though Krai had no doubt been upset at his words, the snake had still offered advice. Telling him the ROR was still safe to use, that somehow Dumbledore didn't know what was going on in there.

He desperately wanted the snake's advice. Should they continue speaking of things in the dorms? Not things that mattered, but other things, so that Dumbledore didn't realise they were onto him and act. Or would it be safer to only plan in the ROR and meet Dumbledore's attack when it came? He didn't know. And Ron was no help. He hadn't been able to talk to Draco about it either. He and Blaise had been unable to sneak away and get to last nights DA meeting.

They'd only managed a few moments together the last few days. The teachers had started patrolling the corridors more thoroughly, making it harder for him to get to the Slytherin common room and there were rumours that spells were to be placed on the entrances to the common rooms, to prevent students going out or coming in after curfew. Especially those of other houses. The spell was set to the different curfew times for each year. Seventh years being allowed out until ten. Something must have happened recently, something that had set the teachers and Dumbledore on edge. How else could these sudden measures be explained?

All this had made him realise how much Krai had actually done for him. He hadn't realised how much of a role Krai played in his and Draco's relationship. With the slight link to Draco's mind that Krai had, the snake could find him anywhere. It took Harry much longer when acting on his instincts and once he did find his mate, there were often hoards of students around. They were forced to insult each other before hurrying off to their classes.

They had managed few moments alone since Krai had gone. And those that they had were brief stolen moments, enough time for a peck to the lips or a minutes forceful mapping of mouths before a hasty retreat and smouldering looks cast over shoulders. It was harder much harder and Harry often found himself treading a razor thin temper. And he didn't like it.

Draco wasn't any better. He was just as frustrated and angry. He was finding the need to act like the bastard of old much easier and had often took his frustrations out on Ron, snapping off a cutting remark before chagrin would soften his features. This mood was dangerous. Luckily none of those incidents had been around people Harry couldn't put off with vague explanations.

He had to go and find Krai, it just wasn't right with him gone. Nothing was. He would go down to the lake tonight and find his familiar.

The post owls broke him out of his thoughts. He didn't get letters, but he always made a point of spending a few minutes fussing over Hedwig whenever she flew in. So it was a complete surprise when Hedwig arrived with a letter. Even though he was curious he spent some time with Hedwig first. This was an owl's time for sleeping and he was happy Hedwig cared enough for him to come and check in before she went off to the Owlery.

Once she was gone Harry tuned to his letter. Who could be writing to him? It could be Hagrid he supposed but the man's writing was an untidy scrawl, this was neat and curly. He knew he had seen it before but he couldn't think where. He broke the seal. Read the letter and thought…

_Shit, looks like finding Krai will have to wait._


	34. Chapter 34

Heyla everyone.

I am so sorry it took so long to update this story, I'm afraid that due to real life problems I've lost all my enthusiasm for my old stories. I'm hoping that continuing to post what I already have of this one will revitalise my muse.

Anyway I hope you like this chapter and I'll try to be regular in posting all the other pre-written chapters. Thank you so much, everyone who has reviewed and favourited. Your encouragement is what keeps me going.

.

Chapter 33: The Passing of Time part 2

_28/09…A Meeting Continued._

Harry sighed, sitting back and ignoring his breakfast completely. He was too worried about Krai to leave it another day but he couldn't ignore the letter.

'Ron.'

'Yeh mate?'

'I'm going to need you to do me a favour tonight.'

'What do you need me to do Harry?'

'I need you and _our friend_ if he'll go, to go down to the lake.' He didn't need to say anymore, Ron knew exactly what he wanted him to do.

'You're worried?'

'Of course I'm worried, he shouldn't be out there.' Harry said heatedly.

'Why aren't you going yourself...?' he glanced at the letter still in Harry's hand. 'What…?

Harry interrupted him with a gesture and passed him the letter. Ron read it, his face growing paler with each word.

'What the hell could he want?' he whispered worriedly.

'I don't know.' Harry replied. 'I know he's found out some things, I know he knows about Krai…_Oh shit_…'

'No!' Ron said. 'Dumbledore doesn't have Krai. He'll be out there under a rock resting after a good hunt. You'll see.' Harry nodded, Ron's words didn't comfort him much.

He should never have sent Krai away.

Sod that, he should have sent him back to the Manor the moment he found out the old coot knew he was there. Should have sent him away. Krai might think that he was there to protect Harry and that was the end of it but Harry thought of their bond as more of a partnership than anything. Sometimes it was the Master's job to protect the familiar, not just the other way around. He had to send Krai away, the snake needed to be kept away from Dumbledore just like the basilisk egg.

Later that night, he headed up to Dumbledore's office. Ron and Draco had already left for the lake before he set off. The three of them had discussed it at Lunch and other than Harry, they knew that Draco probably had the best chance of finding the snake.

Dinner seemed to fly by for him. The prospect of another meeting with Dumbledore didn't thrill him. And at the back of his mind there was still his worry for Krai. He had felt more and more on edge since Krai had disappeared, it was like a calming influence, the rational side of his brain was gone. He was worried about Krai, the possibility that Dumbledore might have gotten hold of the snake was frightening.

That worry though was at the back of his mind, in front of it was Draco. His worry for Draco was increasing with every step he took. He was regretting sending him out into the night with only Ron for protection. He knew that his mate could turn into his animagus form at a moments notice but that did nothing to appease his worries.

What if Dumbledore knew about them being mates? What would he do? Having a mate, like having a familiar gave Harry someone to talk to. Someone to take advice from, someone who's only self interest was making sure that Harry was alive and remained so. In Krai's case because that was his duty, though Harry liked to believe it wasn't only obligation that kept the snake loyal to him. And in Draco's case…well, Draco just wanted to be with him. As he wanted to be with Draco.

His worry put thoughts in his mind. What if he was ever forced to choose between the two of them? He knew he would choose Draco over his familiar, there was no doubt about that. But he knew, especially after the last couple of days that not having Krai around would kill a part of him. And he'd never get that back.

He'd never realised until Krai was gone just how much he'd miss him, how close they really were. The familiar bond was subtle in its magic, from the first moment you felt a connection and afterwards whenever you spent time together the bond grew. It wasn't noticeable. It was gradual, it crept up on you, much like the bond with Draco had.

He headed up to Dumbledore's office his feelings of dread increasing with each step. He gave the password when he reached the Gargoyle, with a sick feeling in his stomach.

'Blood Pops.'

Harry was growing increasingly fond of undercooked meat, his steaks…cooked to order by the house elves were becoming rarer and rarer. Pretty soon he would have to give up eating meat in the Great Hall, before he just went for raw pieces. It seemed it may be prudent to start dropping hints of becoming a vegetarian. He needed the meat though and would have to sneak down to the kitchens on a night. Anyway the taste of blood might be becoming more and more palatable to him. But there was something about an ordinary human liking the taste of blood that gave him the willies. The opening of the staircase brought him out of his thoughts.

He thought it was pretty stupid of Dumbledore not to have changed the password since his last visit but that oversight of Dumbledore's might come in handy at some point. Instead of climbing the stairs he let them carry him upwards.

And like always Dumbledore's voice rang out asking him to come in before he'd even knocked on the door.

Nothing in the office had changed. Dumbledore sat behind his desk, chin resting on the steeple of his fingers. His eyes were twinkling away as he gazed up at the ceiling in silent contemplation.

'Have a seat Harry.' He said gesturing to the seat before the desk. Harry had a sudden inexplicable fear of sitting in that chair but pushed it aside. He sat gingerly in the seat, trying not to betray his nervousness. But Dumbledore looked up at him with one of those small smiles of his and said…

'Don't worry Harry, you're not in trouble.' Dumbledore sighed. 'There have been several events recently that you must be apprised of.'

'Voldemort.' Harry guessed, at Dumbledore's nod he carried on. 'What's he been up to? The Daily Prophet hardly seems to be reporting anything.'

'It isn't.' Dumbledore said gravely. 'He's lying low at the moment, keeping his operations as quiet as he possibly can. Though he himself fears nobody but you, he now realises just how vulnerable his followers are. His support is increasing daily, whether by force or by choice it does not matter but he knows that if the Light side banded together his forces would be outnumbered.'

'That's why he's concentrating on the Giants isn't it sir?'

'Yes Harry, the Werewolves also. Creatures are harder to kill than humans.'

Harry frowned, he didn't like the distinction Dumbledore had made there. Dumbledore could be implying that he knew of Harry's heritage, which was extremely bad. Either that or it was another hint of the old prejudice against non humans that he'd seen since arriving in the wizarding world. Humanoid creatures like Elves and Goblins, as well as 'former' humans such as Werewolves were thought of as beneath 'real' wizards.  
Either way he didn't like it.

'Why am I here sir?' he asked finally.

'Well Harry…It is my sad duty today to inform you of the death of Nymphadora Tonks.'

The shock hit Harry as hard as a physical blow. He had not been expecting that. No, it was much worse than what he had been expecting. Death compared to Dumbledore knowing his secrets was just…Tonks…dead, Tonks…

His thoughts were whirling, they didn't seem to be settling…grief…rage…loss…pain…

_No!_

Harry could hardly speak. 'Tonks?'

Dumbledore's eyes weren't twinkling now, but they didn't hold tears, they were completely devoid of emotion and Harry had to fight down his anger.

'Yes unfortunately. She was doing some work for the Order a week ago. And I'm sad to say that she ran afoul of some Deatheaters and died before our reserve members reached her. Unfortunately Elphias Doge also died in the attack.'

Harry's eyes hardened. _A WEEK! And you're only just telling me!_

Instead of saying that aloud he asked 'Did they get them?'

'No. Unfortunately Kingsley arrived to see them dissaparating.'

'Who was it?' Harry asked, fighting to keep his voice level and not show his anger.

'The two identified were Macnair and Dolohov, though there were several more.' Harry nodded.

'Thank you for telling me that Headmaster. Is that all?'

'No actually. There is another Order meeting in several days and I thought it was time you attended.' Harry stared at him in disbelief.

'You want me to join the Order?' he asked suspiciously. Dumbledore nodded smiling, no doubt thinking he had won some sort of battle by giving Harry what he wanted. And for a moment Harry's anger got the better of his discretion. 'Why now? You've kept me in the dark since you knew me. You told me nothing until you needed to do so. And you've been adamant about me not getting involved. Why now?'

Dumbledore looked a little uncomfortable now. 'You know why Harry. You were too young, but now that you are of age I…'

'What? You can finally allow me to sit in on meetings instead of sending me out to face giant snakes and madmen with second heads.' Harry spat sarcastically.

'Quirrell had two faces Harry.' Dumbledore said patiently like he was reprimanding a child.

'What does that matter?' Harry yelled.

'I wanted to keep you safe.'

'Oh I can see that. I've been about as safe here at Hogwarts as I was at the Dursleys…'

Harry struggled to rein in his temper, he couldn't risk losing it and saying something he didn't want revealing.

He remembered the day when his magic had shredded the curtains and shied away from it, the image finally breaking his anger. As much as he hated the old fool there would be too many consequences if he hurt him now.

'Harry I've come to realise how much the Order needs you…'

Harry laughed a bitter little sound. 'Don't make me laugh; you don't think that at all. You've just realised that limiting your numbers to the older generation is going to get you all killed. You've lost members and haven't brought enough new ones in. Am I right? I can guess that there will be several new faces at this meeting. Including the Weasley twins who I had been told a little while ago still weren't allowed in the Order. They'll be there now won't they Professor?'

Dumbledore cleared his throat. 'Yes they will.'

Harry forced out another bitter little laugh. 'I'll be there Headmaster.' He said getting up to leave. He made it to the door before Professor Dumbledore said anything else.

'I'll send Professor Lupin for you when its time.' With a final nod at Dumbledore Harry left the office.

Once he was sure he was far enough away from the man, he sat down in the corridor and tried to hold back the tears long enough to get the anger in check. After several minutes he gave up, stood and ran as fast as he could to the seventh floor and the Room of Requirement.

_Give me a room, any room as long as it can withstand my anger!_

The moment the door appeared he slammed inside, the force of his shove cracking the stone wall of the chamber. He stumbled to the middle of the room overcome by his emotions, took a deep breath and let his grief for Tonks show.

Harry returned to the Common room over an hour later, his mind shying away from what he had just done, to find Ron waiting up for him. He looked at Ron's face and knew what the red head was about to tell him.

'We couldn't find him Harry.'

_03/10…Reunion_

It was a couple of days into October before Harry had any sign of Krai. It was Wednesday afternoon and Harry had a free period. Ron was stuck inside doing his transfiguration homework. Harry had finished his own earlier on and after helping Ron out all he could he had nothing else that he had to do, so he decided to go out and look for his familiar himself, he spent a good hour and half out by the lake. He gained nothing but a chill.

It was a crisp morning with a harsh wind that made the lake waters stir almost violently. He had tried looking in burrows, even beneath bushes but had found no hint of his snake. With the coldness of the day he doubted Krai would be stirring. That was if he was even ok!

Harry was worried, more so after leaving Dumbledore's office. Tonks was dead. The knowledge that Krai could be also, kept hitting him over and over again like a physical blow. The only thing keeping him sane and stable enough was the sight of Draco. Their stolen kisses were the only things that could warm him.

When he was chilled to the bones and thoroughly pissed off with himself, he decided to go and see Hagrid, to find out if he knew anything about a new snake near the lake.

He didn't need to bother knocking on Hagrid's door, he could hear the giant doing something with Fang round the back. He found Hagrid chopping wood, while Fang ran around chasing his tail and left great ropes of sticky drool all over everything.

'Hi Hagrid.'

'HARRY!' Hagrid boomed. 'Was wonderin' when yer'd be comin' ter see me. Haven't seen yer in a week.'

Harry didn't have the heart to tell Hagrid that he hadn't been coming to see him.

'Got summat fer yer ter take a look at.' Feeling a little apprehensive at what Hagrid could possibly be wanting to show him, Harry reluctantly followed, thoughts of Aragog and Norbert flashing through his head.

Harry stepped into the warm little hut, nearly getting flattened when Hagrid took his coat off to hang it on the giant hook by the door. Hagrid's bulk momentarily blocked the rest of the room from view.

'Come 'ere Harry. Isn't he beautiful.' Hagrid said proudly pointing to a tank at the back of the room. Harry looked where Hagrid was pointing, in the corner was a large glass tank and inside it was…

_**~Master~**_ he gasped rushing over. He threw off the lid and lifted Krai out immediately, the snake coiling around his arm lightly.

~Krai~

'Found him ages ago, bin poisoned. Got better quicker n I expected but then he seemed to sicken again. Seems ter a picked up a bit now tho'.' He said eyeing Harry.

Sudden realisation hit Harry, familiars felt the separation from their Master's just as keenly. But to Krai the slight discomfort he himself had felt would have been magnified because he was the one charged with keeping to the bond. Harry had no obligations under the bond but Krai was charged with _his_ safety and by being forced away from _him_ the snake had suffered. Krai had been in pain, why didn't he come to Hagrid's sooner.

_**~I'm sorry~**_

~It's alright Master~

'Well Harry?'

'I'm going to take him with me Hagrid. I think I know what he needs.' Hagrid looked at him for a moment before nodding his head gruffly.

Harry was almost at the door when he turned back to Hagrid.

'Please don't say anything about me looking after a snake Hagrid. The Press would have a field day, starting that 'the boy who liveds gone dark again' crap. Alright?'

'Yer don have ter ask Harry. Yer secrets safe wi' me.' Hagrid smiled.

Harry's face immediately went from tense to relieved. 'Thanks Hagrid. Please don't even tell Dumbledore. You never know who could be listening in.' And with that Harry left, his familiar firmly wrapped up in his coat and feeling more relaxed than he had in days.


End file.
